The Zoo: Kim's Republic
by Superpsych96
Summary: Jack Brewer of Emperor Ty's Black Dragon Guard has dedicated his whole life to the Empire, but an assignment puts him up close and personal with a young female prisoner known as Scorpion. Jack sees things he was never supposed to. Jack quickly learns the true identity of Kim "Scorpion" Crawford, who challenges everything he's ever known. What are Jack and Kim prepared to do?
1. Chapter 1

**Work Camp 327**

 **Population: 5,000 Criminals and Enemies of the State. 500 guards.**

 **En Route: Captain Jack Brewer of the Emperor's Black Dragon Guard.**

 **Reason for Visit: Inspection and Assessment of Operation and Prisoners.**

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Captain Jack Brewer rode up to the first guard house and waited patiently for moment, under a minute, before the deep electric buzz that told him he had been admitted access. He passed under the gate into a courtyard of dirt, no trees, no green, no life. The symbolism wasn't lost on the young commander.

The second gate buzzed before his black horse could trot to it. As he rode in he saw barracks and sheds, outbuildings and infrastructure that the inmates lived in an were expected to upkeep. If they failed to do so, they would be without whatever that commodity had been. They were their only help and chance of survival out here in the middle of nowhere. The guards had their own supplies and shipments. They were solely there to make sure quotas were met.

Jack passed down the center street that ran between a clearly blueprinted for efficiency ghetto, and noted that it was deserted. Not a single sound could be heard down "main street." _Where the hell was everybody? Where was anybody?_ Finally at the end of the ghetto, Jack saw the warden's palace at the very end of the street. The old stately mansion was the first building he had seen that wasn't concrete.

The damn thing had pillars. Emperor Ty's villa was the only other building Jack could think of that had pillars. Of course that was going in Jack's report. The white painted wood, the wide open front porch and the windows struck Jack as familiar. It looked like a Southern plantation house Jack had read about in State School. The plantation house had been an icon of slavery America. Again, this sentiment wasn't lost on Jack.

He dismounted and tied the reins to the hitching post just in front of the mansion. He climbed the small steps and didn't bother knocking, choosing to go in himself. Jack Brewer wasn't known for his recognition of formalities. This warden could kiss his ass. He was only one of one thousand other work camps. Work Camp 327 was the largest and most productive camp, but still just a number. The warden was just another Imperial pawn on the backside of Jack's ass.

"Stay where you are, don't touch my coat," Jack told the convicted butler as soon as he entered the house, a black leather gloved hand pointing at the surprised man.

"Shall I tell the master that..." Jack held up a hand, stopping the shorter, skinny and emaciated man.

"He isn't a master, he's a warden. And I can tell him myself I'm here. Appreciate the offer, though." Jack walked past the shocked man and climbed the wooden spiral staircase that was painted white. Just like everything else in this damned mansion.

At the top of the landing, Jack found himself in something of an anteroom, a massive portrait of Ty above a lone red door. The portrait was a requirement of every state building, above the main office.

As much as Jack hated announcing his presence, he was glad he did whenever he had to investigate a camp of any sort. There was just something the wardens didn't understand. These were criminals and enemies of state, not sex slaves to take care of them for whenever their wives decided to cuckold them for whatever reason. The usual reason was because they were fucking their prisoners behind closed doors and the wife found out. Jack had walked in on it himself. Twice. So this time Jack knocked.

"Come in!" a voice answered instantly from behind the red door. "Ah, Captain Brewer. A pleasure," Warden Martin said as he rose.

"Don't get up for me. I don't care about shaking your hand." Cold and to the point. That's why Ty liked Jack. "I'm here to evaluate and get back to the capital."

"Don't bullshit me, Captain," Martin chuckled darkly. Jack raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, the black and red leather of the Black Dragon Guard gi pulling across his hard muscle. Martin's posture eased, but he tried to keep his voice tough. "If a Black Dragon is 'evaluating' it means it's an investigation. You heard something, and this camp survives or falls on your word alone."

"That is true. I already don't like you," Jack warned. "I can't tell you what I'm here to find, and you know that. You also know that you are effectively under house arrest during my evaluation."

"I understand that, too. I have arranged for a guard to come and give you the tour of my facilities."

"Lord Ty's facilities. Don't think you're more than a glorified babysitter with henchmen, Warden," Jack growled. "And I don't want some guard giving me some bullshit script you had him memorize. I've done this too many times for that kind of wool to be pulled over me. It's usually a thin act, anyway."

"This camp runs for miles, Captain. It's a two day ride from gate to gate. You don't know the ground," Martin argued.

"Set me up with a prisoner that knows how to ride," Jack shrugged, his shoulders visibly rippling under tight leather.

Martin sighed and keyed the intercom on his desk, "437, will you please summon 3794?"

"Immediately, Warden," a not too chipper woman on the other side answered.

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"Let's go! Y'all wanna get back to our slabs and hit the hay, or do y'all wanna sit out here choppin' tree all damn night?!" 3794 yelled as she heaved and hoed over a two-man wood saw. "We got five more of these fellas to fell and a three mile walk back to the slabs!"

3794 stopped and dragged a sweat coated arm across her forehead. It did nothing to displace the sweat, but the action made her feel better all the same. "4930, bring that chain over here! This one's ready to come down!" she shouted and the older man dutifully ran over.

He wrapped the steel linked chain around the tree and pulled it tight, two others grabbing the chain and tugged hard. They heard the telltale snap and the three ran out of the way. The tree fell and the rest of the cutting crews were able to continue work around them without stopping, thanks to 3794's guidance system. It also made it easier to move the trees, being able to just tug them along to an open field where they could easily be cut to length for whatever project they were going towards.

"Alright, four more to go! Y'all got this, I'm heading out to the quarry," she announced, checking her braid to make sure none of her blonde locks escaped during her back breaking work. She was the only day foreman, and the only of the two foremen that was willing to get dirty with her crews. They respected the hell out of her for it.

"Scorpion!" a guard called as he approached on horseback. "The warden wants to see you back at the palace. Don't doddle."

3794 sighed and rolled her eyes and continued towards her horse that she was entitled to as foreman. "This job just never fucking ends," she grumbled as she took off at a gallop.

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Jack waited patiently, standing at ease in the anteroom as he anticipated the arrival of his escort. He heard the front door downstairs fly open and heavy footsteps clomping up the stairs.

"Evenin' to you too, 2674," Jack heard the voice say with no hint of sincerity. He really wanted to see what the attitude looked like.

He wasn't disappointed when a short but strongly athletic blonde covered in sweat, dirt and sawdust came into the anteroom. He looked her over from head to toe, assessing her. Tattered work boots without laces. Torn overalls exposing nicked and cut, bruised flesh in some spots. An equally battered cotton work shirt that was probably white when she got it. Brown eyes that stared him down, small but work hardened hands resting on slim hips. She had an air of authority about her which was weird, given that she was a prisoner that couldn't have been a day over twenty.

"Can I help you, Dragon?" the girl asked, her voice not impressed by his station.

"You here to see the warden?" Jack asked, crossing his arms, showing complete indifference.

"Yeah, she replied simply, copying his stance. Even down to the ninety degree angle turn of her left foot. His eyes had been on her the whole time. She never once glanced at his stance.

"Go on in. He's been waiting," Jack told her with a flick of his head, his hair had enough spray to it to keep it out of his brown eyes without it looking gross and obviously treated.

"Must of been one hell of a dick he had to suck to get a guard Dragon," the worker-prisoner said with a smirk. It took all of Jack's training not to laugh. If he had any shred of respect for the warden, he would have put this young fireball in her place, but he liked her too much already.

She watched him from the corner of her eye as she passed him, waiting for some kind of reprimand. Instead, she was surprised when he pushed the door open for her.

"Do you no longer knock, 3794?" Martin asked, looking up from his quota ledger.

"I didn't open the door," she shrugged. "Your guard Dragon let me in."

"That Black Dragon is why I called for you," Martin began. 3794's blood froze, but she refused to show it.

"What's he got to do with me?" she asked, successfully keeping her voice nonchalant.

"He's here to evaluate and assess the camp, and he needs a guide," Martin explained.

"Get a guard to do it. These quotas aren't going to fill themselves," 3794 argued.

"The captain doesn't want a guard," Martin said. "He specifically asked for a prisoner, and you're the only one I trust not to do anything stupid," Martin said, but it was obvious to the girl that he didn't like it.

"Can this wait till I go check on my quarry crew?" 3794 asked, her arms crossed with eyes that told him this whole thing was a huge inconvenience. "I need to make sure none of them blew up. If they hit quota, I'll send them back to the slabs."

"They're not _your_ crew," Martin snarled because he was sure Jack was still listening. "They belong to the Emperor."

"Really?" 3794 scoffed. "I haven't seen him here. Ever. I can't remember the last time I saw you in the light of day."

Martin leaned forward on his forearms, peering at her with complete hatred. "We are going to have a _long_ talk about this after our guest is finished with his stay. You'd be dead by now if you weren't the only one that could see a quota filled out."

"With surplus," 3794 added as she left. "After you, sir," she said to Jack with a mock curtsey. This girl had guts, and he really liked it. She had her shit together and knew it more than most of the state workers Jack knew. "Where to?" she asked as they went to the stairs together.

"We can start with the quarry," Jack said. "So you're a prisoner-worker-foreman?" Jack had never heard of that combination, but he thought he'd heard it all.

"Yeah. I do a bit of everything around here. It's not that I like to, but you know what happens if a quota's not met," 3794 filled him in, referring to the overtime and rations cut to make up for it.

"So you work yourself to death for the good of the other 4,999?"

"Yeah, but they make it easier, believe it or not. They know I'm trying to make sure we're all okay. I've heard of camps where the workers starved because they went too many days in a row without hitting quota. The more they fell behind, the more they got punished until they couldn't take it. The work camp turned into a concentration camp."

"Where the hell did you hear that?" Jack asked, pretending he was shocked.

"Don't bullshit me, Captain. I know how Emperor Ty's censorship works. I know propaganda about how these camps reform and change lives, make better citizens but our time here just makes us bitter. I wasn't born in here," 3794 spat, leading the way to the quarry.

"If you keep saying that openly, you're going to die in here," Jack warned her, taking a hold of her reins to stop her.

"I know that and I've accepted that. I don't mind giving my life so the people that come through here get out in the best shape possible. Most of my people are 'enemies of the state.' Since having a free mind is a crime, I'm fine behind these walls," 3794 finished and took the reigns.

This girl would be all too dangerous on the outside. As much as Jack admired her spirit, it was spirit like that that got people killed.

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"This is the quarry," 3794 announced as they came on the sight. "Here, we blast, pick, hammer and drill the cliff face for raw building material. The rock goes from..." Jack cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Cut the tour speech. If I wanted that, I would have came with a guard," Jack told her with a glow in his eye she couldn't exactly place.

"What do you want from me?" 3794 asked suspiciously.

"I want to see this place from a foreman-worker-prisoner point of view. I want to know what the propaganda won't say," Jack told her honestly. "Even as captain of the Black Dragons, there's a lot of tape I'm not allowed behind."

"What does it matter to you how this place is really run?" she asked, still not trusting him. He understood that. She was a prisoner and he was the captain of the Emperor's guard.

"You're not going to help me, are you?" Jack asked, his face cold.

"No, I'm not. This place is already hell and I won't tell you a damn thing to make it worse," 3794 said, stubborn as hell.

"We'll be spending a lot of time together during my evaluation over the next three days. Can I get a name instead of a number?"

She looked ahead, refusing to make eye contact. "The guards here call me Scorpion," she said. "I can have a temper and some of the prisoners have found out I have a pretty nasty sting."

"A little thing like you?" Jack asked with a chuckle as they entered the work zone.

"I love when people underestimate me. Also probably why they call me Scorpion," she said with a cocky smirk.

"Scorpion it is, then. Better than calling you 3794 all the damn time," Jack said.

"Agreed," Scorpion nodded. "Well this is the work sight. I don't see anyone, so they either really fucked up, or they're done with their work and they're chilling somewhere."

"Chilling somewhere?" Jack asked, an eyebrow tweaked. "Pretty calm language for a forearm."

Scorpion shrugged. "I'm still a young girl, Captain, and you can't be older than what, twenty-one. This place has only aged my body. As soon as I let it age my soul, I've lost that fight. And I don't take losing well."

"Neither do I," Jack said as they continued just a bit further to where they found a string of wagons loaded with rock.

"Yup, they hit their quota. I told you I don't like to lose," Scorpion smiled and rode to the front of the wagon train. "If y'all are done for the day, head on back to the slabs. Get a bowl of mush and hit the straw," she ordered and the crew followed without hesitation.

"They really do respect you," Jack said in obvious shock.

"It's because I'm one of them, because they know I give a shit." Scorpion sighed and chewed her lip.

"What?" Jack asked, noticing her contemplative look.

"Nothing. Something just feels... off," Scorpion said, not exactly sure herself. "Let's keep moving. It's getting dark and I'm hungry," she said, her eyes flitting around like she was searching for... something.

"Alright, we can head back," Jack said with a nod of his head. He had to try to keep some semblance of the idea that he was still in charge. "What kind of meal do you get here?" Jack figured the smaller camps all had the same poor excuse of a meal plan, but he wasn't sure if this one was going to be any better.

"I don't know what Martin'll be giving you," Scorpion said with a scoff, finding it ridiculous that he thought they'd tell her that kind of thing.

"I meant what are they serving in 'the slabs.'"

"Oh. The same thing as every night. Stale bread and hot water with a sorry lack of meat and potatoes." Scorpion could go into how much they hate the sad excuse of an evening meal, but for what purpose? This was the captain of Emperor Ty's Black Dragon Guards. He may not be as cold on the surface as she expected, but she assumed he was an ice block on the inside.

"I ate on the road, but I have room for some beef water," Jack said as they took off toward the slabs. "Why do you call them the barracks 'slabs?'"

" _I_ started calling them slabs. They're just giant blocks of concrete that were pretty much carved out and fit with more concrete for us to sleep on."

"You sleep on concrete, too?" Jack asked. This was different than the other camps he had investigated and even shut down. They had little huts with cots, but most camps were a fifth the size of Camp 327.

"I have a concrete slab with a hay mattress. So does the other foreman. The rest of us sleep in hammocks," Scorpion said like it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't if you lived it for years.

"I'm guessing that doesn't make for good sleeping, a hay mattress on concrete," Jack found himself sympathizing aloud with the poor girl.

"I can't remember the last time I woke up and my back wasn't sore," Scorpion admitted, her hand caressing the small of her back to suppress phantom pains. Jack found himself frowning a little, but did away with it before Scorpion could catch it.

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Scorpion and Jack got back to the slabs just before dark, and Jack could hear her stomach rumbling like thunder. How long had it been since she last ate, let alone ate enough?

"This is my slab," she said as they dismounted. "That slab over there," Scorpion pointed to the one kitty corner from them, "Is where the other foreman stays. We try to avoid each other."

"Why's that?" Jack asked, finding himself oddly curious, considering this probably had nothing to do with the evaluation. Jack also remembered that this wasn't a run of the mill evaluation, it was an investigation.

"Different management styles," Scorpion shrugged. "He's lazy. He doesn't help his crews because he's the foreman. He just rides around and tells people what to do."

"And you lead by example," Jack said what she didn't.

"As much as I can," she confirmed. She stopped and looked at Jack with puzzlement for a moment. He opened the door for her. Martin would stand on the outside looking in until someone opened a door for him, but here was the captain of the Black Dragons holding the door for her?

"Are you going to stare at me or are you going in to get something to eat?" Jack asked none too politely. He refused to make this a big thing. Scorpion stepped in without a word, not even a thank you. He wouldn't get that from her. Jack just smirked at the working girl's feisty attitude. Again, he found himself really liking it.

They walked up four flights of grey concrete steps before they came to a thick, you guessed it, concrete door. No unnecessary expense was put into this place. Jack found himself agreeing again with Scorpion on the name of the place.

"This is the mess floor. The dining hall and kitchen take up the entire top floor. The floors below us are all sleeping quarters. That's all this place is," Scorpion explained as they walked through the crowded mess together, passing stainless steel picnic-like tables cramped with hungry prisoners devouring their less than meager rations like the animals they were meant to feel like. It came to Jack that this camp wasn't about reforming or "reeducation" as they were explained. In the case of Camp 327 at least, it was all about humility. The only thing you could be proud of was busting your ass, the products of their labor went to the people that put them in here.

The work camps, what they really were, was the Empire's best hidden secret.

"Scorpion, why is everyone staring at us?" Jack whispered.

"Probably because you're a Black Dragon, Captain," Scorpion said with a chuckle, letting her blonde hair down for the first time since that morning. "You're the only one in this slab not wearing a stained beyond believe work shirt and torn up overalls. They're staring at me because they've just associated me with you."

"There's one thing I don't get, Scorpion," Jack said, leaving the thought there to see if she gave a shit.

"And that would be?" she humored him.

"I can feel the daggers staring into my back. But you haven't been warm or cold to me. Why?" Jack left no room for her to avoid answering.

"Extra water, please," Jack joked when they got to the man behind the line with a big ass cast iron pot next to him. He made sure to have an extra emotionless face as he gave Jack the exact same serving that every other man and woman here got.

"We all get the same here. No matter who you are," the 'cook' said with a straight face. "Unless you're 3794, that is," he smiled at her as he gave her a somewhat strained ladle, taking care to give her a little more substance but not enough to cause a stir from those who didn't appreciate their foreman as much as he did.

"Thank you, 1638!" Scorpion said with a smile. She worked her ass off for everyone. She worked twice as hard as anyone to make sure the same amount of beef and potato went into that pot every night. If there was ever less, she wouldn't eat that night. She was appreciated and she appreciated that. Her status also meant she didn't get fucked with anymore. No one had to feel the Scorpion's sting.

"Scorpion, you never answered my question," Jack reminded her.

Scorpion rolled her eyes at Jack's persistence. "What good would hating you do me? You didn't put me in here. You safeguard the man that runs the fucked up society that sees me in here, but you're doing your job."

"They hate me. They see Emporer Ty in me, and they hate me because I represent him. They see my gi, and they see the police that put them in here," Jack said, knowing it to be true. He had to deal with that since the first time he put the leather on.

"See, you get it," Scorpion said with a fake ass smile.

Their dinner conversation was broken up by a lot of shouting downstairs and heavy footsteps. A group of guards broke through the door and rushed straight for Jack and Scorpion.

"Captain, Warden Martin has been murdered!" one of the guards shouted, leaning on the table out of breath.

"WHAT!?" Jack shouted as he shot up from the table. Scorpion was up just after him. He took off at a run, Scorpion on his heels. Jack took the stairs five at a time, Scorpion taking three.

They broke outside and down the block of slabs, pushing past hundreds of workers blocking the paved road to Martin's mansion.

"What happened?!" Jack shouted as he and Scorpion forced their way inside and up the stairs to Martin's office.

"He was stabbed, sir!" a guard said from behind them, the same one that delivered the news.

"Who did it?" Jack asked as they got into the office and he stared down at the bloodied body. "Did anyone see anything?"

"No sir, not a damn thing," the guard cursed under his breath.

Jack grabbed Scorpion by the forearm and damn near dragged her to Martin's private quarter. "What do you know about this?!"

"I don't know shit!" Scorpion yelled back just as loudly.

"Everyone here loves you, respects you. There's no way nobody told you. Did you plan this?"

"No Captain, I didn't. I had no fucking clue you were coming today. Today was going to be just another day but I had to play tour guide! If I didn't, maybe I would have gotten word of this."

"Are you trying to tell me this is somehow my fault, _Prisoner_ 3974?" Jack growled.

"No, but it sure as fuck isn't mine so get off your high horse before I kick it out from under you," Scorpion threatened and Jack began to see the camp myth's venom.

"Did you forget who I am, girl? Don't fucking threaten me!" Jack billowed and attempted to strike her, but Scorpion was quick and threw up a right hand front block, her eyes fiery and her face twisted into a snarl.

"Well I have my answer as to why I'm really here, what I was here to find out," Jack said with a predatory smirk.

"And what's that, _Captain_ ," Scorpion spat, refusing to lighten her glare.

"I'm here to investigate rumors of prisoners here practicing karate, and teaching it after they leave her. Now I know who the primary source is," Jack told her triumphantly.

Scorpion's face fell and she looked terrified. She should have let him hit her.

"Karate is forbidden. Capital offense you know, _Scorpion_. Forbidden for anyone who isn't a Black Dragon. A name is coming to my mind..." Jack trailed off.

"No. No no no no," Scorpion pointed at him. "Don't."

"Kim Crawford. The Black Dragon that was disgraced for attempted mutiny," Jack paced back and forth, his hands behind his back. "So you're what, training a rebellion from the inside, hoping to have enough warriors to lead when you get out?"

"Jack, I'm not trying anything! I practice my form _by myself_! Someone must be watching me and passing it along!" Kim tried to explain what she couldn't prove or confirm.

"We'll talk about this later, Crawford, but first order of business is finding who killed Martin, and keeping this place on track. If we don't, Ty will make this a living hell like _I_ have never seen. Will you work with me?" Jack asked, holding his hand up and out, looking for that strong, bonding hand shake.

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 **So this is the first chapter of my new dystopian fic. If you guys don't like it, I can try my other idea, but I really like this one. But please, let me know.**


	2. Jack's Dirty Hands

Kim took Jack's hand and shook it slowly but with a firm hold, not wanting to appear weak but not entirely trusting him either. "So what do we do?"

Jack sighed and looked her in the eyes. "We keep running this place. You keep doing what you're doing, and I'll sit in as temporary warden until we can get this situation settled."

"So I report to you now?" Kim asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes. Problem?" Jack asked, crossing his arms as well and raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"No, no problems," Kim answered quickly. "As long as you treat me with more respect than that piece of shit did, we'll be good," she told him as she turned to leave.

"That's a two way street, Scorpion," Jack called after her just before the door closed. He just shook his head and left after she did.

"Alright, everyone clear out of here! I'm in charge now!" Jack barked and everyone scattered like rats. Who was going to say no to the captain of the Black Dragons when he had a katana on his back and nun-chucks on each hip?

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Kim woke up with the morning's first ray of light. She stretched and groaned before rolling off her straw mattress, throwing her wispy blanket back down behind her. After another stretch, Kim put on her safe filthy clothes from yesterday. It was two more days before it was her slab's turn for laundry.

She walked through the bunks and past the hammocks full of the sleeping prisoners and made her way to the girls' shower. The slab usually did it's showering at night, so Kim sacrificed going to bed dirty in exchange for showering alone. It also meant hot water because the other 999 slabmates hadn't used it up.

After her shower and redressing, it was time to wake the floors, which consisted of flicking the lights on and off multiple times and yelling. It would be fun if it wasn't to get them to go do hard labor for an empire she couldn't fucking stand being a "subject" of.

"Let's go, y'all! Rock ain't gonna blow and load itself! Timber ain't gonna cut itself! Road ain't gonna pave itself!" Kim listed off just three of the ten jobs she would be trying to oversee today. Kim's ten hour day left her about forty-five minutes per job sight and fifteen minutes for travel.

"Boss." "Boss." "Boss," each slabmate would say to her as they went through the door next to her. Martin had thought she owned the place, but when it came to it, Martin was a suit. Martin had even known it. Though a prisoner, this was Kim's yard.

As the prisoners filed out, Kim went to her horse, whom she had named "Badass" with no explanation to anyone as to why. She hopped on and took off at a trot down the main road towards the first work station.

"Foreman Scorpion!" Jack shouted from the front porch of the warden's mansion. Kim rolled her eyes, but altered her course and trotted to him.

"What can I do for you this morning, Captain?" Kim asked plainly, no pleasure or disdain in her voice.

"We both have jobs to do, they just so happen to go hand in hand together," Jack said as he pushed off the post and walked down the whitewash steps. "I won't stop you from doing your job, but I still need to do mine, which is evaluating this camp and now catching a murderer and alleged karate instructor."

Kim watched him as he effortlessly pulled himself up into the saddle. "And you think shadowing me all day is going to accomplish those last two?" Kim challenged as they took off, back on Kim's original course.

"What better inside information can I get than that of my foreman?" Jack asked. He also caught the way her eyes briefly flicked over at him and then back to the dirt path when he had said " _my_ foreman."

"I'll help you catch the killer, Captain, but I won't help you catch whoever is giving the instructions," Kim said.

"You understand how this looks for you, how this ends for you if you don't?" Jack asked, his voice turning deep and almost dangerous. "Kim, if you're the best suspect I have and I have to put your name in, they will kill you. Ty will order your execution."

Kim didn't have a response. She knew that practicing karate if you weren't a Black Dragon or the army was a capital offense. "I live and he dies or I die and he lives," Kim thought allowed, showing her understanding. It was a shitty situation and there was no way around it.

"And it's being taught to others, it isn't just isolated. Your death won't be made easy," Jack pointed out.

"I was a Black Dragon, Captain. I know all of this," Kim said. This really was nothing new.

"Kim, if you help me catch both the murderer and the instructor, you may receive a full pardon," Jack was running out of ways to paint how important it is to her that she help him. She wouldn't care why it was good for the Empire. That was self-explanatory. "This shouldn't be hard for you."

"It is a hard decision when you value human life other than your own. Ty doesn't and neither does anybody under his thumb. You're trying to do what's best for you. You don't give a shit abut me yourself. As long as you don't fail your mission, you don't care who's name you give. So give mine. What's the difference,"

"No, I don't care about what you want. I don't care about your emotions, your feelings, your blah blah blah blah blah. I care that you're name isn't on my report because out of 5,000 people, you're the only one who's proven to not be expendable. Make it 5,001, because Martin was garbage. The guards are replaceable."

"I'm just a prisoner, Captain. How aren't I expendable?" Kim challenged. He was trying to fluff her up so she would help him.

"I looked the records for this camp. I looked at production records and cross referenced those numbers with your file. You've been here two years. The first year you were just a grunt and the numbers moved just enough to tell me it wasn't some kind of fluke. The second year you're instated as a foreman, the first ever foreman in the work camp program. You're second year, Camp 327 breaks it's record for most productive year and Martin was personally recognized by Ty."

"I'm good at what I do. You want me alive to help fuel an empire that I left for dead and left me for dead," Kim shrugged, still not giving a shit about Jack's failing message.

"Damn it, Crawford! What the fuck part of getting out of here doesn't appeal to you?!" Jack shouted. "Care about yourself, not what you think I want for you or the Empire. Help me, then help yourself. Get pardoned, start a projects business and start a family. Get out of here and never look back, never think about this place or me!" Jack's face was cherry red from yelling at the incorrigible blonde.

"I won't help you unless you can swear to me that I can have that life," Kim said as they came to a river and rode beside it.

"Where are we?" Jack asked, his eyes taking in the crystal clear water. He had never seen fresh water so clear. The water of Seaford, the Empire's capital, wasn't even safe for swimming, let alone drinkable.

"We're coming up on the dam building sight. After the dam's done, that crew gets to check out," Kim informed him.

Jack watched as a massive trout jumped from the water and submerged again. "Did Martin ever allow anyone to fish this river?"

"Fuck no," Kim snorted. "The only reason anyone would be allowed to take a fish out of this river would be to feed it to that dick bag the same evening."

"You really weren't a fan of Martin, were you?" Jack said with a chuckle as the dam came into view. It was absolutely massive. "How long has this project been in production?" Jack asked his second straight question.

"Martin was a fucking joke. He got his money, his position. He didn't give a shit whether or not we hit quota, didn't or starved," Kim explained, her hands balled into little fists.

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his thick brunette hair. Kim looked at him questioningly. "Martin's reports never mentioned you. At no point is Prisoner 3794 even seen outside of roll call."

"He took credit for everything I ever did here, Captain."

"You can call me Jack when it's just us," Jack whispered as the worker-prisoners came up on the horizon, all 250 of them that would be all over the project like ants in a moment.

"You don't even know just how little he did here, Jack. You'll see how little he did."

"If I wasn't with you at the time, Kim, I'd swear you did it with the way you talk about him," Jack said, leaning over the horn of his saddle.

Kim scoffed. "Good luck finding anyone here that will say a good thing about Martin. I thought I already told you, Jack, we have 4,999 suspects."

"Looks like I'll be here a while, then," Jack said with indifference.

"Better than Martin," Kim mumbled under her breath. "If you're going to be here, just try to make yourself more useful than the last warden," Kim decided to say for Jack to hear, though he did hear both.

"I thought we talked about your attitude, 3794," Jack said, making sure to throw in her prisoner number to put her back in her place.

"I'm sorry, alright?" Kim said as she dismounted and walked up towards the works. "I'm used to having to be a bitch to get anything done my way. My way is the way that set this camp's record."

"I understand that, and I'm sure some of the people you've worked with and for weren't the greatest. You don't have to worry about me undermining you, okay? You're doing good work here and I understand you don't trust me. I understand I have the ear of Ty, but I'm not here to cause you trouble," Jack explained.

"I appreciate that. It's hard enough here," Kim said as she began climbing a scaffold, leaving Jack behind on the ground.

"You're not going to put on a harness?" Jack called up after her.

"Do you see a harness here?" Kim laughed. "Nobody but us prisoners care if one of us dies," Kim said coldly.

Jack just shook his head and followed her up. "How much time are we spending here?" Jack was done pretending she was going to take petty orders.

"I spend about an hour at each project to help out and steer them in the right direction," Kim explained as she neared the top.

"Anything I can help with?" Jack offered. The sincerity of his question caught Kim off guard for a moment.

"You just stand there and look pretty, alright hun?" Kim chuckled. "I don't want you getting yourself hurt."

"I appreciate your mock concern, but I think I can handle a hammer," Jack scoffed.

"I'm sure you can, and _I_ appreciate your offer, but do you really think the captain of the Black Dragons and temporary warden should be seen drivin' nail?" Kim argued, taking away said tool.

"Don't you think the two of us working together with them would inspire them to work better?" Jack parried, taking the hammer back. "What do we need to do?"

Kim rolled her eyes at the stubborn, boyish acting captain. "Alright, but if you slow us down, you're outta here, get me?" She was dead serious.

"Got it. Up here, you're boss," Jack nodded. "So what do we need to do?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Alright folks, y'all got this! I'm moving off to the next crew!" Kim shouted as she began to climb down the scaffolding.

"Warden Brewer, are you leaving us as well?" A tall brunette girl with beautiful copper skin asked, her eyes drinking in his sweaty form, his leather gi tied around his waist.

"Uh..." Jack hesitated and looked to Kim, who was hanging on the scaffold, waiting to see what he would do. She wouldn't decide for him. He had to do this. He was in charge.

"We could really use you on the pulley systems. You're the strongest one here," Prisoner 4793 said, pointing two workers in the direction of another task.

"You all seem to have this pretty well under control. I'm going to go with Scorpion and get to know the rest of the crews. I'll be here a while, and I'll be back here tomorrow."

"Do we have permission to speak freely, Warden Brewer?" a small, pale prisoner asked. Jack just nodded and motioned for him to continue. "Wha... what... what should we expect from you?" The man was obviously afraid to speak. The entire population of the Empire had to watch their tongues very carefully around members of state. Speaking loosely to _the_ Captain Jack Brewer, the Fist of Ty was a very brave act. Jack literally had the "right" to react in any way he saw fit.

"Let me ask you this first," Jack said, crossing his arms. By this point, Kim had climbed back up and took a seat behind and to the side of him. She had to hear this. "Martin is dead. I don't care what we say about a dead man that Scorpion hasn't made bones about telling me that he was hated by all," Jack began. "So on a day to day basis, what was so hated about him? What did he do?"

4793 crossed her arms and hugged herself, feeling small. "He didn't do much. He did paperwork and was a strict disciplinarian. He personally saw to all discipline, whether he wrote the orders, oversaw the fulfillment or carried it out himself."

Jack could tell that Martin had done something to her from the shallowness of her voice and her closed off body language. "4793, what did Martin do to you?" Jack asked quietly.

"He beat me. I had broken my foot on the first day of dam construction. A timber fell on my foot and broke four toes. I fell behind in productivity. I'm 3794's right hand on this project, always have been. When I broke my foot, I wasn't that great, obviously. The dam suffered on it's opening days, and me and 3794 were punished for it."

Something in Jack froze. His hands balled into fists. "How bad did he beat you?" Jack asked, trying to keep his composure.

"I was laid up in the ward for three days," 4793 said. "3794 should have been," her voice broke and a tear even escaped. "But she didn't stop working. Her leg was in a cast and her arm in a sling. She kept going."

Jack turned and looked to Kim, who was sitting cross legged behind him, her arms crossed. "Why did you pass up ward time? You could have hurt yourself more."

"I don't care about me, Captain," Kim had been back to formally addressing Jack for a while now. "I'm just one girl. I give myself up every day to the people here."

"To answer your question," Jack said addressing the scrawny worker, "what you can expect from me is fairness, if you can believe it. I am Captain of the Black Dragons. I am the 'Fist of Ty' but I am not a cruel man."

"Why should we believe you?" 4793 asked, moving a lock of black hair from in front of her amber eyes.

"You're speaking a little too freely," Jack warned her coolly. "But I understand your concerns. I'm here to make sure this state institution continues to run. I'm here to make sure I catch Martin's murderer. I get no one liked him, but murder is still murder," Jack leveled with them.

"Lusa, the Captain isn't going to hurt us," Kim assured her friend. Kim using Lusa's actual name in front of Jack was the strongest show of trust Kim could have presented. Kim had a feeling Jack would actually turn this camp around for the better somehow.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack and Kim both rode back to the slab, nearly falling asleep in their saddles. They dismounted and hitched their mounts to the post and realized they were being watched.

"Scorpion, what are the chances some of the prisoners here are stupid enough to try to attack me?" Jack asked with a cocky smirk, daring someone to try him.

"Yeah, no one would be dumb enough to try that on main street. Maybe a group would try if they could get you alone, but everyone here knows about the skill of the Black Dragons, let alone the captain." Kim wasn't buttering him up, that wasn't her style. What she said was the truth.

"We're not exactly friends, I know that, but if the prisoners tried something, what would you do?" Jack asked.

"Are you asking me if I'd pick sides?" Kim asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jack confirmed as they walked over to the slab. The two of them together was becoming a common sight around 327, but that was honestly expected. Jack was the new warden and Kim was the 'it' girl.

"Honestly, I'd sit back and let it sort itself out," Kim admitted. "Helping you would make me a target and a traitor to the prisoners, and helping them would have obvious repercussions."

"Smart girl," Jack said, finding himself impressed.

"As foreman, a big part of what I do here is making sure that doesn't happen. I've had to step in and try to keep a riot down once or twice. One time involved me laying down for a beating by Martin."

There it was again, that little spark of rage that flickered in the pit of Jack's stomach for only a moment. "How often did Martin beat his prisoners?" His question was a lot more broad than the one he wanted to ask.

"Very often. He would beat one a day, believe it or not. He went through the production figures, went straight to the bottom of the list and would kick the shit out of whoever that happened to be. There's always a bottom, so he always had someone to hurt even though he claimed the beatings were 'to get us to work harder.'"

Jack shook his head as he opened the door of the slab for Kim, and entered behind her. He sighed aloud, but louder than he thought he did.

"I get the feeling you're not going to hurt anyone," Kim said quietly, maybe a touch of hesitation by her free statement.

Jack paused before speaking in a low, almost dark tone, "Real men don't lead through abuse and fear. A real leader leads through respect and genuine dedication. Martin was a weakling and a damned fool," he finished off with a growl.

"Jack, you've been asking a lot of questions about Martin's treatment. What's going on?" Kim asked quietly, stopping on him on the stairway by grabbing his arm.

"These evaluations the Dragons have been doing are being done systematically through all one thousand camps because riots have been sporadically taking place. Twenty-five riots. Seven of them had casualties. 327 is the best camp we have. That's why Ty put me on this."

"You're afraid that we're going to rebel?" Kim asked, honestly shocked.

"Well someone already murdered the last warden, so..." Jack trailed off. "At any point, have you found anything suggesting an attempt?"

Kim did nod. "Before I was foreman, we had quota issues which meant that they cut our rations. We were literally starving because we weren't 'productive' enough. We lost five workers to make quota. After that is when I began taking charge. I promised I'd never watch another worker starve or work themselves to death. I've held good to that promise."

"That is noted as highly as it possibly can be. Kim, Ty will be given this information. There will be a change. I promise." Jack was absolutely sincere. Kim had a hard time figuring out how Jack would make the change, but she would not push this envelope.

"Can we go eat our potato water now?" Kim asked.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack sat alone in Martin's office, the man's blood still on the carpet. Jack could have had it removed, but he wanted it there. What stronger message was there than a tyrant's blood on a new leader's rug. It said strength and that he wasn't to be messed with, but at the same time it was a reminder to not let there be another accident.

He stared at the phone on the desk, knowing what he had to do. He had mixed feelings about the Emperor, Ty. The man was weak. He was a puppet of his captain. His father was a very hard man, a miserable tyrant that taught his son nothing. Ty had followed the lead of Jack's father, Hector. Hector had been the captain before Jack, Hector's father before him. The Brewers captainships went back to the founding of the Empire.

Jack did what he had to and called in. The phone's projector cast the image of Ty's office onto the wall.

"Jack! Holy shit! How's my favorite captain doing, buddy?!" Ty sounded legitimately happy to see Jack.

"I'm well, your majesty," Jack replied with a nod and stood at attention.

"Relax Jack, this is a situation report, not a formal inspection," Ty said with a chuckle. "So what have you... wait, is that Warden Martin's office?"

"Yes, yes I am," Jack said without ever looking away from the hologram.

"You're tense. What's going on? You're always tense when something is off," Ty said, now nervous himself.

"Well, my lord, Warden Martin has been... murdered," Jack came out and said it.

"Wait, seriously? One of the prisoners offed Martin?" Ty asked on total shock. "I mean, I knew he was far from, ya know, leadership material. But murdered?" Ty began pacing.

"Yes, murdered. And I have a camp full of suspects. I'm learning a lot from this camp. I've been working with the foreman, and I've been getting very valuable Intel," Jack informed him.

"Such as?" Ty sat down on his desk and crossed his arms.

"About a year ago, there was an issue hitting quota. Rations were cut, people were actually starving. Five prisoners died before the next quota was hit."

"And?" Ty asked, completely missing the point or why it was bad.

"Cutting rations for missed quotas may not be the best idea, my lord. Cutting rations that are already less than desirable makes the workers weaker to the point of even death. I was under the impression that these were work and rehabilitation to the the Empire camps, not concentration and death camps," Jack said evenly, trying to stay objective when all he wanted was to punch a hole through the face of Ty's dead father.

"Yeah, exactly, Jack. The camps aren't vacations, but people aren't supposed to die there! That's a civilian relations disaster waiting to happen. I'm just glad I have a position for someone to take care of those letters for me."

"My Emperor, do I have your permission to do away with Camp 327's ration cut policy?"

"Absolutely! That's some good thinking there, Jack. Ya know, I was beginning to think that might have something to do with the riots we've been facing lately."

"I agree, my lord," Jack said with a bow. He was kissing Ty's ass like he always had to when he wanted something done, but Ty was actually on the same page.

"Have you eaten their food, Jack?" Ty asked curiously.

"I have," Jack confirmed. I'm attempting to immerse myself. I also must gain their trust if I am to learn what really makes them tick, who killed Martin, and who has been teaching karate though it is forbidden."

"Great job, Jack. This is why you are number one. Do whatever you need to make that place work. The production out of 327 last year was unreal. Martin was a suit, but he kept things in line. I think,you can make it better."

"Part of his methods involved physically beating workers, my lord," Jack tried to keep his emotions in check, no matter how much he disagreed with that method.

"Well yeah. We talked about this. Sometimes you gotta lay the smack down to keep people in line. Disciplining a few bad apples is better than not watering the orchard. If someone slips up, you or a guard needs to whoop some ass. That's an order. Don't immerse yourself too much, Jack. I can't have you going soft."

"Yes, my lord," Jack said and fought to keep his chin up.

"Run a tight ship, but run it how you see fit. Untill you're back, your cousin Kai has been put in charge of the Dragons and my advisory council. Get done soon, though. I like you better. You're overlord out!" Ty. Shouted and killed the link, leaving Jack alone again.

That could have gone worse, but he didn't fix everything he had intended. He still had a lot of work to do, and a certain blonde spitfire's attitude made him worry about Ty's unshakable discipline doctrine.


	3. True Colors

Kim's eyes were closed as she centered herself and released a hard side snap kick into the old rotting tree that was almost a mile from the slabs. She had no idea she was being watched. Her hands were wrapped in old shirt clothe, keeping her knuckles safe as she threw jabs and hooks.

"Scorpion indeed," Jack chuckled as he gave up his position, leaving the tree behind him.

Kim stopped, completely stunned. Jack had caught her red handed. She was fucked. "Jack, I..." Kim tried, but Jack stopped her by putting up a hand.

"Do you know what I could do to you right now? Do you know how deep you would be if I said one word to Ty?" Jack said threateningly, stepping closer and closer.

"Jack, please. Don't. This camp needs me! Beat me if you want to. Hit me as hard as you can, but please don't make me go anywhere! Please don't do anything to embarrass me in front of the others!" Kim begged, pleaded, even dropped to one knee.

Jack closed the distance between them and offered his hand to the poor terrified girl. "Kim, relax. I'm not going to hurt you right now," Jack said as she took his hand but didn't stand.

"What do you mean _now_?" Kim asked, her brown eyes the size of saucers.

"I talked to the Emperor, Kim. I got him to fix some things in the camp, but he wouldn't budge on physical discipline," Jack said, sounding sad himself.

"So, so you might have to beat someone if a guard presents a situation?" Kim asked, standing to her feat finally.

"I'm afraid so. That being said, Kim, I need you to not be rash. I like you, you're the best asset I have here. If something happens and I have to... punish you..."

"Don't worry, Jack, I know it's your job. And I like you, too. You're the first state agent I haven't wanted to throttle," Kim said with a little chuckle.

"Well I'm glad," Jack chuckled back. "You're a little rusty, but I wouldn't want to fuck with you if I was a normal guard."

"You don't have to worry about that. The guards don't usually mess with me. Every now and then I thrash one, then get my ass kicked by Martin for my troubles," Kim said as they began punishing the old tree together, Jack on the opposite side.

"Why thrash a guard if Martin just beat you to a pulp afterward?" Jack asked, missing the logic.

"Because kicking the shit out of a guard after getting pushed down earns respect from the guards and prisoners," Kim explained. "And also, I understand I'm a prisoner. That's why I live here and do what I do day in and day out. I'm not a slave though, Jack. I won't be treated like one," Kim said defiantly, delivering an extra hard roundhouse to the old tree.

"Do you feel like a slave more than a prisoner very often?" Jack had to ask.

"When I do work, I feel like a prisoner. It's when I'm face down in the dirt because some guard thought it would be funny to put me there really makes me not so agreeable. Anything else?" Kim asked, sounding like she was done talking.

"No, I think we're good here."

"Good."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Captain Brewer, Scorpion is here to see you," a guard announced. Jack had replaced Martin's butler prisoner with a guard. That's one more body to work towards quota.

"Send her up," Jack said without looking up from the yesterday's projects quota reports. He was currently working on getting them sent to him the same night.

"Yes Captain," the guard said quickly and left.

After only a moment, Kim was in the doorway, a guard holding her back at each arm. "What the hell is this?" Kim huffed.

"Watch your mouth when you talk to me, Scorpion. My sting is far worse than yours," Jack said menacingly. He had to keep up appearances, and so did she. They couldn't let anyone know they were in together on every problem this camp had. Kim was willing to help Jack because he was making real changes. His rule was already visible.

"May I come in, Captain?" Kim asked through gritted teeth.

Jack gave her a winning smile, and because the guards couldn't see him, it was real. "You may. What do need?" Jack asked professionally, not with the dusted over hatred Martin would have showed her.

"I'm gettin' my rounds started. You comin' like you did yesterday?"

"No, I will be tomorrow. Today I'm covering new instructions with the guards. My reports with Emperor Ty have been very... enlightening to him."

Kim stole a glance at the guards and she could tell they were in for some real shit. If the Black Dragons knew two things, it was kicking ass and stirring pots. "I'll leave you to it," Kim said with a nod. "Fellas," she nodded to the guards as well.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack had all 500 guards assembled in the courtyard outside the camp's walls. They were standing around, not really sure what was happening or what to do. This was completely new to them.

"Have none of you ever been in a formation?" Jack asked, standing with the gate to his back.

"Nah. Warden Martin never actually used this space," a guard informed him. "We never really leave the camp."

"Do you guys have any training?" Jack asked, already fearing the answer.

"Nah," the same tall guard with curly hair said.

"Who are you?" Jack asked, puzzled by the man's ignorant audacity.

"Jerry Martinez, Captain of the Guard," he said smugly, crossing his arms.

"What do the guards even do around here? Besides the ones I posted," Jack said, crossing his own arms.

"We don't really do much. We watch the dining areas and occasionally Warden Martin would have us on call if he was paranoid about a riot," Jerry explained.

"So Martin had 500 guards with next to nothing to do and you all did next to nothing?" Jack wanted to make sure he understood.

"Yeah, pretty much," Jerry confirmed.

"What would you have dome if there had been a riot?" Jack asked, getting more pissed by the second.

"Thrown on the riot gear and beat the prisoners senseless with knight sticks and riot shields," Jerry said with a shrug.

"That's not good enough, and to be frank, either are any of you," Jack shook his head. "When was the last time any of you did PT?"

"P what?" Jerry asked, scratching his head.

"PT. Physical training," Jack said like it should have been a no brainer. "Can you guys even fight?"

"Kinda. I mean, we have our own fights every Friday. We put money or rations on each other just for shits and giggles," Jerry the mouthpiece gave Jack all the information Martin would have been so loath to admit.

"Oh for the love of..." Jack sighed and ran a hand through his thick brunette hair. "Do you guys even have PT gear, or am I going to have to have to put through a massive order with Scorpion?" Jack asked almost as a threat.

"No, we have PT gear, we've just... never used it," Jerry said, scratching the back of his neck.

"We start today. We're going to stretch, do some body resistance exercise, go for a run, and if I'm still pissed off, we'll begin your training on being _useful_ guards. It's no wonder Martin was murdered and knew one knew a thing about it."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Dinner finally came about, and Jack hoped he could finally get the incorrigible Jerry off of him. That chance came when he saw Kim ride past him to the slab. He had caught up to her by the time she had tied up Badass the horse.

"Scorpion," Jack acknowledged her with a curt head nod.

"Scorpion," Jerry also noted her presence, immediately on edge. It was obvious she'd had the better of him at least once.

"Captains," Kim nodded back. "How may I be harassed by you gentleman this fine evening?" she asked with a smile.

"Not trying to start anything, just a hello," Jack stated simply as he held the door for Kim and... apparently Jerry. Jack guessed by Jerry's character that Jerry wasn't a kiss ass, so what was going on with him attaching himself to Jack at the hip?

"Well hello," Kim said just as curtly. She didn't mind Jack's company, really. But having Jerry and Jack tailing her made her feel kinda jumpy. "Captains, you know you have a mess hall just three buildings away," Kim said, stopping on her way up the stairs. She turned to face them, her hands gripping the stair railings tightly.

Jack noticed her stance change. He could see fight or flight in her eyes. "Scorpion, you okay?" Jack asked, but Kim continued to stay frozen in place.

She just stared at him and started backing up slowly. "Uh, yeah. I'm okay I think," Kim said with a small smile, still backing up.

"Captain Martinez, can you give us a second, please?"

Jerry nodded. "Yes sir, I'll save you a seat," Jerry gave Jack a shitty salute and hugged the wall as closely as possible, creating as much space between he and Kim as possible.

Jack and Kim stared at each other until the door clicked shut behind her. "Better now that it's just me?" Jack asked with arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

Kim awkwardly rubbed her arm and shifted in place, but didn't say anything.

"Kim?" Jack tried again. Something was definitely wrong. She was never speechless.

Kim sat down on the step and rested her forearms on her thighs. She sighed and looked like she wanted to talk, but she still couldn't speak. She was shaking softly.

"Kim, let's go talk somewhere," Jack said, taking her hand and helping her up. She nodded and got up slowly.

"I'm fine," she said, moving Jack's hand from her shoulder. "Just... don't... I'm fine. You know what? I'm just gonna... go eat," Kim pushed past him and back up the stairs.

"Kim, what is going on?" Jack asked more forcefully. "Talk to me," he pressed.

"I thought you and Martinez were here together because I did something. I thought you two were here to beat the hell out of me. That's the only reason a warden and a guard would approach me at the same time," Kim spilled quickly, her nerves catching up and making her continue her admissions. "And now here you are in front of me, saying that I can talk to you when you're the warden and also the second most powerful man in the Empire. Why the _hell_ would you care if there's anything wrong with me anyway?"

Jack sighed himself, and searched himself for an answer. Why did he care? Jack was speechless.

"You don't care. And you shouldn't," Kim fumed as she turned back around. "Why did I wake up today?" Kim mumbled, thinking Jack wouldn't hear it.

"Because you hold this place together," Jack said before he thought better of letting her go. "You keep the prisoners going, you keep the quotas filled. I couldn't do your job and make something of these guards," Jack admitted, unable to stop himself like Kim couldn't.

"Make something of the guards?" Kim asked, Jack having her full attention again.

"The guards here aren't guards, Kim," Jack chuckled. "They're untrained bullies that think they know their jobs. I'm going to get them into shape. I'm going to discipline them. I will hold them as accountable for their jobs and actions as much as you are held accountable."

"Jack, this is one camp out of one thousand. What do you think your efforts here are going towards?"

"Do you know what these camps are? I'm going to be honest with you. Look at the people in here. Petty criminals and enemies of the state. You're examples used to fuel an economy. I'm not stupid, Kim. The murderers, the rapists are all in _real_ lock ups. I've seen them, Kim. I won't even tell you what happens to them."

Kim shifted her weight to one hip and her tongue was pushing her cheek. "What kind of place do we live in, Jack? It's obvious to me that you know how corrupt the Empire is. Why do you serve it?"

"That's a hard thing to answer, Kim. And you're not going to be satisfied with the answer. Why shouldn't matter. What should matter is that I'm making changes," Jack said, refusing to feel small or like an ass.

"What else do you plan to do, Jack? How much of this is for us and how much is for Ty? How long until Ty finds out you're becoming one of us?"

"I am _not_ becoming one of you," Jack barked. "You chose to turn your back on the Dragons by teaching civilians karate. How am I supposed to fix as much as I can if martial arts trained citizens overthrow the Empire without a single plan?!"

"What the fuck are you talking about, Jack? Trying to fix?" Kim was totally lost.

"Do you know much about the Empire before it was the Empire?" Jack asked, leaning against the railing.

"Not much. Nobody really does," Kim shook her head.

"I do. I take it you don't know much about your ancestry, either," Jack smirked.

"I'm an orphan, so I don't know..." Kim was getting more and more lost.

"No you're not," Jack shook his head. "Come with me, Kim."

"But... food..." Kim argued weakly as Jack pulled her down the stairs and out the slab.

"You'll get fed," Jack promised as he let go of her hand and they walked to his office.

Once inside, Jack saluted the guards and they saluted back. It was nice and crisp, but their thumbs stuck out instead of staying with their other fingers. "Not bad," he commented before closing the door.

Jack offered Kim a chair and sat down himself. "The Crawfords were the ruling dynasty before the Neros* overthrew them. Get what I'm telling you?" Jack asked, leaning back in his chair.

Kim sat there absolutely stunned. It took her a few minutes to register and run everything through her head a few times. "I'm... I'm rightful heir to the Empire?" Kim said just below a whisper.

"That's right, your highness," Jack said completely straight faced. "I'm not here on direct orders from Ty, Kim. My right hand, Lieutenant Brody Carlson, and my good friend Milton Krupnick were sent to three separate camps to investigate the riots. When I learned of rumors of prisoners being taught karate, I figured it had to be you," Jack connected the dots.

"I confirmed it was you, and now Brody and Milton are working on making these camps more than camps. We're getting ready to stage revolts," Jack finished, trying to gage her expression.

"Kim only had more questions. "Why? Why should I believe any of this?"

"I understand your doubt," Jack said. "It's because I'm a Brewer. Brewers have served as right hands even before the Neros, before the Crawfords. We go back to the Wabooboos."

"The Wabooboos? The Wabooboos were the founders of the Empire," Kim said shocked again.

"The Brewers are the oldest name in the Empire, but only the Brewers know this because of how much power that name holds. Dynasty after dynasty we have been kept as right hands in acknowledgement to our services of the one before that."

"But... but why help me? Why don't you continue this?" Kim every puzzle piece Jack placed, Kim wanted another to follow.

"Because the Brewers were loved once, nearly royalty ourselves. But the Neros are a different dynasty. Oppressive, hateful, war mongering, dishonorable. They dragged the Brewers with them. The Brewers are hated as much as today's royalty for being fists. We weren't always warriors, Kim."

"God Jack, this is just so... so..." she could barely even function.

"Much?" Jack finished for her.

"Yeah," she said weakly.

"I know," Jack nodded. "I won't ask you to immediately trust me, or even soon. Like I said, I understand your doubt. I want to earn your trust. I want to earn the guards' trust by making them better than they've ever been. I want to give them a purpose they've never had and that will endear them to us. That will ensure us their love and loyalty and in return earn it from us as well."

"God Jack, this is... this is so much. But you're right. I don't think I can trust you yet and I'm sorry for that. But this may very well be a trap. Maybe you're a player in the trap or it's _your_ trap, but it's all so wild," Kim said, her hands tugging on her hair.

"I'll work for your trust, and I will work towards showing you that we can do this. You already have my trust. You're already doing your part," Jack said, his voice strong and his eyes telling her he spoke only the truth.

"Now about dinner," Jack said and Kim smiled brightly. They were both famished. Kim would never admit it, but she didn't hate the idea of a dinner, just her and Jack.

 **XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

 ***Emperor Nero was arguably the worst emperor of Rome. He was so nuts he literally burned down the city.**

 **So quite a lot happened in this one, huh? I really hope it all makes sense and that my intentions for this story are a lot more clear now. Keep the reviews coming!**


	4. Respect Is Earned

_"I'm sorry, Kim. I told you if you couldn't keep yourself under control, it would be my job to put you back down," Jack growled, cracking the whip in his hand. "I'd like to say this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you, but that's not true at all," Jack chuckled, cracking the whip again as two guards tied Kim's hands to the wooden whipping post that was in the yard behind the warden's mansion._

 _"Jack, please! Don't do this!" Kim begged as the guards that tied her ripped the back of her shirt open. "No, Jack!" Kim screamed, not wanting to add scars to the five that were there from the first time from before she was a foreman._

 _"I'm sorry, Kim," Jack shrugged and sent the whip snapping._

"God no!" Kim shouted as she shot off her straw mattress. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them. "What the fuck was that?" Kim asked herself aloud as a sob wracked her body.

Kim rocked back and forth until she was able to get herself back under control. Once the tears stopped, she wiped her eyes and sniffled. Kim had no idea how that dream came about. Was it stress? Was it just a dream from a horrible experience and she inserted Jack because he was the one in charge now? Was it from everything he had told her last night and she feared the consequences of biting the bate she feared she was?

She just didn't have time to ponder and sit on her ass. She had a job to do and a Black Dragon to avoid until her brain got things settled.

Kim did the usual morning routine and took an extra lengthy shower without even realizing it. Her mind ran away and left her standing under the luke-warm spray. She thought about her day ahead and how to best avoid Jack. She had a feeling that avoiding the captain would be easier said than done, especially if he wanted or needed her for something.

After she was ready and focused as much as she could be, she woke the crews and sent them off. She saddled up and made sure to take the long way around, avoiding Jack's new palace. Jack was already out with the guards.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"I'll talk to Scorpion about getting you sorry bastards some PT gear. As for today, you're going to have to suffer the day in your uniforms. We're going to stretch out again today, and I'll begin teaching you to actually fight. How's that sound?" Jack asked rhetorically.

"That sounds cool and all, but uh..." Jerry began awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "you're being kind of a jerk."

Jack chuckled as he began to pace, his hands in his hair. "This is a joke, right?" Jack asked. "I'm your captain and I'm going to whip your sorry asses into shape. We've been over this. I'm really not going to make friends here. That's not why I'm here."

"So... we should expect you to be an ass?" Jerry asked, shocking Jack with just how slow he could be.

"Yes," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Some of you won't be on speaking terms with me, some may hate me, hell... one or two of you may want to kill me," Jack said plainly. Maybe Martin's murderer wasn't a prisoner.

"Alright, but isn't you teaching us how to fight and stuff, like... illegal?" Jerry's hand never left his neck.

"First off Martinez, the only law above me is Lord Ty himself. And secondly, do you think I would be teaching you a damn thing without his approval?" Jack asked with crossed arms and a raised brow.

"Nah, I guess not," Jerry replied with a smile. None of the other guards seemed to question this. "So what are we doing today exactly?"

"Stretching out, I will be teaching you basic blocking and strikes. We will be practicing together till noon. After lunch I will send fifty of you to each work location where you will actually _guard_. You will watch for prisoner fights, work injuries and slackers," Jack said forcefully, leaving no room for arguments. "Good. Now lets stretch it out!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Come on, move over!" Kim shouted as she took the wrench from the worker's hand and slipped under the downed conveyor belt. "What the _hell_ happened to this?" Kim huffed as she battled with the guts of the downed machinery.

She was almost done with the smoking and greasy mess when she was pulled out from under the conveyor belt.

"Got a second?" Jack asked, standing over her with her arms crossed.

"Not really," Kim said, sliding back under. "Is this something we can talk about while I work?"

"It's about your work."

Kim was really hoping she wouldn't have to see this brown eyed, long brunette haired Dragon today, or this week for that matter. "Is there a problem?"

"I need 500 PT uniforms, if you have the time."

Kim stopped moving and tweaked her eyes in disbelief at the audacity of Jack's request. Or was it a demand? "I have time to talk now," Kim said, her voice purposely over-chipper. She did the final tweak and the belt hummed to life and production was back.

"Great," Jack said with a smile that Kim couldn't tell if it was fake or not. "So, 500..."

"Can we talk for a second, like over here?" Kim said, her own a smile on play for the workers who were watching the pair. "I didn't say stop!" Kim shouted. "Y'all break into tea time if I'm not babysitting?" The crew snapped back into action.

Jack took her arm and went to a further off, lighter manned section of the factory building. "What do you need to talk about?" Jack asked, crossing his arms.

"Five hundred PT uniforms, Jack? I'm good, but I can't add that into quota like it's nothing, I mean..." Kim began to ramble and Jack out his hand up.

"I don't remember reading or hearing anywhere that your product was black and white. I thought it was by quantity, not item," Jack pointed out with a smirk.

"So my quota just turned from industrial machine parts to clothing?" Kim said with a bottom lip biting grin.

"You help me, I help you," Jack smiled back. "No more rush than your normal quota."

"Do the guards not have PT gear?" Kim scoffed.

"No, no they don't. They're out of shape, they admitted they have no real fighting skill. They're a joke. Hell, the only thing keeping the Free Tribes out of this place is the walls," Jack said with a scoff of his own. "There's no way in hell I'm going to train them to our prowess, but I want them to be formidable."

" _Our_ prowess?" Kim asked, crossing her arms.

"You were a Black Dragon, Kim. The Black Dragons are the most lethal fighting force in the Empire. You're a girl to be reckoned with yourself. The guards are afraid of you for good reason, Kim."

"Am _I_ afraid of you for good reason?" Kim couldn't help but ask. She wouldn't tell him about her dream if she didn't have to, but she couldn't just live in fear of him. It was obvious their paths here were bound to be crossed time and time again, to run together.

Jack stared at her, blinking. He wanted to tell her she had nothing to fear from him, but this early in the course of events, she did. "I'm sorry, Kim."

That was all the confirmation she needed. "Alright. So I need to keep watching over my shoulder to see if there's a guard waiting to jump me or report the stupidest little thing to you when all want is my job but these fuck faces just want to see me get five lashes again," Kim shot off all at once, her dream coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Five lashes?" Jack asked, not having heard any of those stories.

"Yeah, five lashes. It was during the time we were starving. I was caught trying to steal from the kitchen, and Martin decided to make an example of me. He gathered everyone, _everyone_ behind the mansion and made them watch as he whipped me. It hurt so bad and was the most embarrassing time of my life," Kim finished, the dark memory bringing tears.

Kim continued to speak, but it was mixed with sobs and said so fast, Jack couldn't understand her. She seemed to be getting worse, and slowly picking up volume. It wouldn't be good if she made a scene right now. Jack did the only thing he could think of to slow her.

Kim was more than shocked when Jack took her by the shoulders and roughly pressed his lips to hers, kissing her forcefully. At first she was too stunned to do anything, then she kissed him back before pushing him away.

"What the hell was that?" Kim asked harshly but keeping her voice low.

"Are you calmer now?" Jack asked with his hands still on her shoulders and an eyebrow raised.

"A little," Kim mumbled, but still not satisfied. "So you just... you just _kissed_ me to get me to shut up?" Kim huffed, a hand on her hip now.

"Well there was that. I also need you to know that I won't do that to you. Hopefully we won't have any 'disciplinary problems' at all," Jack said in air quotes, "but I will not do that to you. That is a promise. I can't do that to any of your people."

Thus time Kim took Jack by the arms and kissed his cheek. "I don't know if I should, but I believe that," she said honestly.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack sat alone in his office, pouring over the day's paperwork that had just come in. The day's quota was met with surplus again. Jack had two ideas for this, but he had to clear it with Ty.

Speak of the idiot ruler himself. Jack's projector clicked to life and there was a hologram of Ty. "There he is! How's my favorite Dragon?" Ty asked happily.

"I'm doing well, my Lord. How are you?" Jack smiled back, but truly felt nothing.

"Anything important?" Ty went straight to the point. He could be like that sometimes when he was tired, but when he was wide awake, Jack couldn't get him to shut the fuck up.

Jack was about to answer when there was a knock on his door. Jack glanced at it and then went back to Ty.

"No, go ahead and get that. I have time," Ty said through a yawn. "I want to see my boi do work!" he said with a grin.

"Enter!" Jack called.

"Ooh, strong. I like that," Ty said just before the door was cracked.

"Sorry to bother you, Captain," Kim said, stepping in.

"You got the guards there to recognize titles? Holy shit!" Ty said, obviously impressed.

"Who are you talking to?" Kim asked curiously as she came further into the office.

"Hello. Who might you be?" Ty asked as he smiled at Kim. He could tell she was not in fact, a guard. "Got a little something something going on, Jack?" Ty asked with dancing eyebrows.

"No, no I don't. This is one of my guards who I have immersed as a prisoner so she can get better leads on who might be responsible for Martin's death," Jack easily lied.

"Damn son, good work!" Ty praised. "Keep it up. How's the executive side of things?"

"It's going well, but there were q few things I wanted to ask about," Jack said curtly.

"Nope. No questions. Whatever you want to do, I'm down with. I trust you completely, my man. You may be Ty's Fist, but your also a part of Ty's Brain," he said pointing to his head, "and Ty's Heart," he put a hand over said muscle. "Whatever you do, just put it in a digital report I click on and then delete without actually reading."

"Alright, sounds good," Jack said, perfectly happy.

"Oh by the way, I ordered the hit on Martin because he was garbage. The guard captain, uh... Martinez said something about a possible revolt so I wanted a Dragon to fix that shit. If just happened to be you! Night, Jack!" Just like that, the line was cut.

"What the..." was all Kim had. "What do we do now?"

"We make this place what we want it. I have clearance to turn this into a town, a fortress even, and I intend to. Brody and Milton are still working on their transitions, following my trends. We'll have an army soon, a small nation of our own, or we go for the gold, the whole Empire," Jack thought aloud.

"Can it be done without blood?" Kim asked, feeling naive just thinking it.

"Well I hope so," Jack chuckled. That's part of the reason I have you now instead of dropping a nation, an empire, in your lap."

"What if it does come to blows?"

"That's why we have me," Jack said with a straight face.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kim walked out the door of the mansion and was about to step down onto the street when a guard stuck out his leg and tripped her. Kim fell into the dusty street face first and made no sound in pain or indignance.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trip the Captain's pet," the guard laughed and the one next to him sniggered as well.

"Pet?" Kim asked rhetorically, a snarl on her lips. She pushed up off the ground and kicked the first guard between the legs, dropping him to the porch. The second guard pulled up the defensive stance Jack had taught him only that day.

Kim copied his stance and hoped he'd make a move.

"You struck a guard, that's punishable by Captain Brewer, he said with a wicked smile. Kim held her arms out at her side and bowed her head, submitting to her punishment. The guard took her arm and led her inside.

"Captain Brewer, Scorpion assaulted a guard, just outside of the palace," the guard said, more at his back.

"Why?" Jack asked Kim, but stayed neutral in his tone.

"Because the guard tripped me," Kim responded. "I retaliated."

"I see," Jack said, his hands behind his back. "Leave her." The guards pushed her in and closed the door.

Kim stood stunned, having no idea what to expect. She remembered her dream and Jack's words from earlier, but she still had no idea what to expect.

Jack took off his gi which was more a uniform than a combat outfit. "I'm sorry, Kim," Jack sounded genuinely heartbroken at this.

"Jack..." Kim backed herself against the door.

Jack got into a fighting stance and waited patiently. "I don't believe in whipping, Kim. I told you that would never happen. Nor will I beat a man or woman like a power hungry coward. You're a Dragon, I'm a Dragon. It's a fight you'll lose, but I'm not asking you to lay down," Jack explained.

"Thank you," was all Kim had to say. This meant more to Kim than anything she had ever been given here. Jack respected her enough to not humiliate her, to not beat her without a chance. A fight with Jack also meant respect to her for putting up a fight and more respect for Jack for the challenge.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kim flew through the door, skidding across the hardwood floor of the anteroom. She dropped her head against the floor and looked up at the ceiling, her chest heaving from the fight.

Jack emerged, still tense and hulking, sweaty and disheveled. It was still obvious who was on top. "Any questions?" Jack asked, staring down each and every guard in turn. They all shook their heads or didn't move. "Then why are you still here?" Jack seethed. After everyone had left, even the door guards, Jack picked Kim back up.

"Damn," Kim panted, her hands on her knees. "That was an ass whoopin'."

"That fight was more than admirable," Jack said as they went back into his office. "If I would have known you were that good, I would have made the fight public."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because nobody would fuck with either of us, but it would be clear that I was still the big dog," Jack said as he took a seat.

"We'll keep that in mind next time a guard thinks it's funny to piss me off," Kim laughed.

"We can do that," Jack agreed.

"But wouldn't that show that I know karate?" Kim asked, suddenly nervous again.

"It would," Jack confirmed. "You're already in here, though. I'm not going to punish you even more for the thing that got you in here. Extra punishment is only served for things done in here, like you assaulting that guard."

"I follow, and I like it," Kim said with a smile.

"Good," Jack smiled back. "Also, I need to go down to the slab kitchens," Jack said as he got up.

"What for?" Kim asked.

"You all hit a surplus quota which in my book means extra rations tonight," Jack said as they left the building together. "It's an incentive and a reward. You're punishment for why ever the hell you're in here is meeting an absurd quota. Beat the absurd quota, get some more crappy food," Jack explained his logic.

"Won't the guards think you're getting too soft?" Kim asked.

"They won't say shit when they get their second helpings, too. They've been here and off the grid too long to really know what's happening in the capital versus what's happening here," Jack said, but he also knew his takeover had to be somewhat subtle. Ty had already exposed Jerry as a whistle blower.

"What else do you plan to change around here?" Kim asked with a knowing smirk.

"I'm going to change everything over time. I'm going to make this right," Jack said. " _We're_ going to make everything right. Not for just us, but for the entire Empire."


	5. Shadow Games

"Jerry, do you trust me?" Jack asked the man as he dropped down next to him in the green grass.

"Yeah dude," Jerry said enthused. "You've done a lot here and everyone appreciates it. You've actually made us feel like something."

"That means a lot to me, Jerry," Jack said, keeping a straight face. "You're all getting better, too. I can see my lessons sinking in."

"Well yeah, dude. If you give us shit to do we'll do it. Martin never did."

Jack ran a hand through his hair, chuckling at just how little he had sweated during his and Jerry's sparring. "When was the last time any of you have been away from here?"

Jerry made a fart sound. "Once you're here, you're here, man," Jerry said sadly.

"How do you feel about the Empire?" Jack had to be careful here. He had to hide his motivations for asking, and he didn't want Jerry to feel like he was being grilled.

Jerry looked at him suspiciously before answering, "I don't _hate_ it."

"Please, speak freely, Jerry. If I didn't honestly want to know, I wouldn't waste our time asking."

Jerry made another fart sound. "I feel like we're getting shafted here. We live on the 'skirts of the Empire and we barely get anything for it. We have dangerous jobs, yo. We were getting close to rebelling before you showed up."

Now Jack was getting somewhere. "Again Jerry, don't pull your answers. Part of why I'm here is to make sure this place is the best it can be. So I need to ask you, Captain of the Guard, how do you really towards this place, towards the Empire?"

Jerry exhaled deeply and drummed his fingers against the earth. "I feel like we have our own kingdom here, man. We take care of ourselves, we're our own family here. The only thing we get from the Empire is food supplies. We do all the shipping out," Jerry explained.

Jack chewed his lip, thinking deeply at the man's words. Jerry was far more perceptive than he first thought. "What if I told you we didn't need the Empire?"

"Whaa?" Jerry asked, not entirely following.

"Jerry, before I came, when was the last time an Empire representative was here?" Jack asked, a hand on his shoulder.

"There wasn't one that I remembered. Not since Emperor Ty visited after that record breaking quota, but everyone knows that was Scorpion, not Emperor Ty."

"You don't respect Lord Ty, do you?" Jack asked with a chuckle and a smile, loving the way this was going. From Jack's place beside the thrown, he wasn't able to see how thin Ty's veil of control really was. Ty wasn't as deceiving as the capital thought, perhaps.

"Should I? Jerry scoffed back. "I feel more loyalty to you than to Ty because you've actually made things happen for us. We all talk about it in whispers," Jerry admitted. "Now what were you saying about not needing the Empire?"

"We can grow our own food with time. Better food for everyone. We can stop recording surplus and keep it so we can have better lives here, Jerry."

"Jack, isn't that stealing?" Jerry asked, scratching his head.

"Think of it as a long deserved promotion from a boss that doesn't remember you exist," Jack said, shaking the man's shoulder. "The prisoners can farm our and their own food. We can improve living conditions and maybe even have some luxuries," Jack added.

"Real food and _two_ pillows would be nice," Jerry nodded. "Why are we talking about this?" Jerry couldn't understand why Jack gave a shit about him.

"Because I want to make changes here that will be good for everyone. I want you and the guards to be cool with it. I don't need any enemies here."

"Jack man, the guys here won't complain as long as we don't get shafted," Jerry chuckled. "You're like this camp's parent and we're babysitters. Do you, bro."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kim sat atop the dam and watched as the water ran under her at a controlled volume, Lusa sitting next to her. Their feet swayed back and forth together over the ledge, occasionally brushing.

"How are you doing?" Lusa asked her best friend and boss. She tentatively reached out and traced a bruise that formed on Kim's chin from yesterday's fight.

"I'm okay," Kim smiled at Lusa's motherly worrying. "Jack actually let me put up a fight. He didn't tie me down and make me take it."

"I bet you'd like that in a different circumstance," Lusa played off Kim's wording and laughed when her fair skinned friend turned red. "It's cute, your crush."

"I'm not crushing on Jack," Kim scoffed. "He stands for everything that I can't stand." Kim knew now that that really wasn't true, but she had to keep Jack's cover for him.

"Kim, just admit it! The man is hot and he's the best thing to happen to us since you became foreman," Lusa said, trying to break Kim's stubborn head.

"Fine. It's a stupid crush," Kim gave in, knowing Lusa would keep going if she didn't give in. Kim's foot hit the dam again and she stopped, her eyes going wide and her jaw dropping.

"Kim, what's wrong?" Lusa asked, holding Kim's hand.

"The dam is done," Kim said, a tear slipping from her eye even as she smiled. "Your task is done."

Lusa pulled Kim into a tight hug and also began to tear up. The moment was so bittersweet for the both of them. "I get to go home," the dark haired and caramel skinned girl whispered.

"You do," Kim concurred, that simple statement making it hurt so much more. "Go, get out of here," Kim said through gritted teeth, pushing her away.

"Kim, I don't want to leave you here," Lusa said, her smile gone and her cheeks becoming sleek with hot tears.

"You have to, Luse," Kim sniffled. "Go have a life, have a family, get a job. Forget everything that happened here. Forget me," Kim said, her voice broken as she failed to keep eye contact with the taller girl.

"Kim, will you ever get out?" Lusa asked, taking Kim's hands in hers.

"If things stay the way they are... I'll die behind these walls. The last seed of the Crawford name extinguished," Kim's words hit herself harder than they did Lusa. Lusa still couldn't bare the idea of Kim perishing in this forsaken place. Once forsaken. Jack was changing that, though.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack sat at a table in the dining hall alone, chewing slowly on the stale bread the camp was given at every meal. It felt like less in his stomach, tasted like ash and felt like dust in his mouth. He sipped the water, thankful it was fresh. He wondered to himself when the last time any prisoners had tasted milk. Wine for that matter.

"Mind if I sit down?" Kim asked quietly, a small tin cup in her hand, steam rolling off the top. The prisoners brewed their own teas. Coffee was a guard luxury, but even they were forced to have it black. Jack was allowed creamer, but he never took it.

"Please," Jack offered the chair across from him. Kim took it with a light smile. Jack brought the bread to his mouth again but dropped it, his eyes held disgust.

"Are you okay?" Kim asked him, watching as he stared at the crumbs on his plate.

"This isn't real food and that has been bugging me more and more lately," Jack said, shaking his head slowly.

"You have real food, Jack," Kim pointed out, venturing so far as to take a piece of his bread.

"Yes, but I want to be your leader but also one of you. Trust and respect, Kim. Speaking of trust, what happened to you today?" Jack asked, his hand reaching for her cheek where he could see the slight discoloration from her days tears at the coming loss of Lusa. He pulled his hand back, thinking better of it.

"Nothing, it's just that... my best friend Lusa has finished her work project. She's going home and I'm going to really miss her," Kim said quietly.

Jack did reach out this time, his finger resting under her chin. Even with Kim's rough life, Jack marveled at the softness of her skin. "How does she feel about going home?" Jack asked softly.

"She's going to miss me, and she's been here so long she'll have to get used to home being home again."

Jack nodded in understanding, an idea forming in his mind. "So that whole project team is on it's way out? We'll have a new crew in three days or so."

"Yeah," Kim confirmed.

"Good. I have a project in mind," he said simply.

"Can I ask what it is?"

"Farming. We're going to farm."

"We're going to farm?" Kim asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, Kim. You're going to do what you do best. Make sure we get a surplus. But I already talked with Martinez. We're not going to record a surplus. We're going to eat that."

Kim looked at him skeptically while trying to fight a smile. She loved the idea and hoped it wasn't a joke.

"We're going to start keeping all of our surplus. If you're given a budget and you don't use all of it, you keep it anyway. It's like that, more or less," Jack smiled.

"You're a devious man, Captain Brewer," Kim said with a straight face. Ty trusted Jack, and look at all Jack was doing against him. If Jack was willing to cross the emperor, why would he not cross her when he saw fit?

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jerry sat on the front step of the guard barracks, a long blade of glass between his fingers. He twirled it in his fingers as he chewed his lip in thought.

"Hi, Jerry," Lusa said shyly, his eyes staring at her feet as she stood in front of him.

"Hey, Luse," Jerry said sadly, still not looking up. "You're leaving soon, huh?"

"I'm afraid so," Lusa confirmed, sitting down next to him. "Does that bother you?" she asked sweetly.

"You know it does," Jerry told her what she already knew. He rested his head on her shoulder and she took his hand. "You get to leave here but I have to stay. I watch prisoners come, they finish their projects and then they go. I'm not a smart axe, I get that. But since Captain Brewer got here, I'm starting to think I'm a prisoner, too." Jerry couldn't keep the turmoil from his voice.

"Jerry?"

"Yo?" he asked, looking up at her.

"I don't want to go," Lusa admitted. "It sucks here, but it's more of a home than I had before. I had no home, no job, no family to speak for me. That's how I ended up here. Homelessness is as much a crime as anything else, I guess."

"You'll just end up in another camp. Without me. Without Scorpion. Without Captain Brewer," Jerry connected the dots.

"Another camp where people like Martin rule. I really don't want to go," Lusa shuddered and Jerry pulled her close. Their relationship had been a secret since the day they had stumbled upon their mutual attraction for each other. Now, they didn't care.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack heard a knock on the door and sighed deeply, tired of the day. The guard training continued, he helped Kim in the afternoons after the training, then he locked himself away to do paperwork. He had the longest day of anyone, even longer than Kim's. He just wanted to finish and go to bed.

Jack went to the door and opened it, ushering in whoever it was without looking at the visitor.

"Jack man, I know you're dead tired, but can I have a minute?" Jerry asked, his nerves obviously getting to him.

"Yeah, why not," Jack said, offering a chair as he took his own. "What's up, Jerry?"

"Uh... it's uh..." Jerry couldn't seem to find the courage.

"It's what, Jerry? We talked about this. All you have to do is tell me we're off record," Jack said, his mood lightening. He just hoped to god this wasn't about work, but he knew it was.

"So, ya know how the dam crew is leaving tomorrow?" Jerry asked, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah..." Jack motioned for him to continue.

"Well uh, it'd be really cool if like, one of them... didn't."

"What?" Jack asked, his one eyebrow quirked in interest.

"Yeah, there's this one..."

"A girl?" Jack guessed.

"Yeah..."

"Kim's friend Lusa?"

"Yeah, wait... how'd you know? And who is Kim?" Jerry asked in total shock.

"Kim is Scorpion, Jerry," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "She told me all about Lusa leaving and how you and her have a thing."

"We never told anyone!" Jerry shouted, his eyes bugging out of his head.

"Well apparently Lusa told Kim or Kim just figured it out. Wait a minute!" Jack shouted, slamming his hands down on the table. "When the _hell_ did I go from right hand of the emperor to sounding board for a movie drama?" Jack felt like it was a very valid question.

"I don't know, dude. Since you started caring instead of dictating?" Jerry offered. "What ah, what are you doing there?' Jerry asked, looking at Jack's ledger.

"Just... quota and a whole bunch of numbers and stuff," Jack said, getting pissed just thinking about it.

"Ah man, Lusa used to do accounting and shut before she got framed for embezzling," Jerry said laughing at the story Jack thought was actually pretty sad.

"You don't say..." Jack said, resting his chin on his finger tips. "So she doesn't really want to _leave_ , she just wants to not be a prisoner here?"

"Pretty much, dude," Jerry confirmed.

"Tell her she has a job right here, and to come see me tomorrow morning," Jack said with a smile.

"Ah dude, no way!" Jerry was absolutely ecstatic. "And if she's not a prisoner, we're totally free to date without all these shadow games."

"Shadow games..." Jack said to himself.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack threw another hard roundhouse into the old stump as he waited for the girl he knew would soon arrive. They had been meeting here at the same time every night since Jack had first followed her here.

"Kim, I know this is weird for you, me... No no no!" Jack chastised himself as he threw a front axe kick. "Kim, I might not be your favorite person, but..." Jack struggled even in his rehearsal.

"You're pretty entertaining right now, though," Kim said, sauntering over with a smirk.

"Kim, you're early," Jack said nervously, rubbing the back of his already sweaty neck.

"I wanted a bit of a warm up before you got here, but apparently you're warming up to ask me something," Kim smiled knowingly.

"Yeah, um..." Jack smiled nervously, his tongue feeling huge in his mouth at that moment.

" _The_ Captain Jack Brewer is nervous to ask little Kimmy Crawford something?" Kim scoffed and put a hand on her hip.

Jack's words failed him but his legs worked just fine, bringing him to stand toe to toe with the little warrior. She tried to step back, but only felt Jack's large hand press against her smaller back. She released the littlest gasp before Jack covered her mouth with his own.

Kim sighed into the kiss and curled her fingers in the cotton of Jack's t-shirt. She had been secretly thinking about their first kiss ever since it happened, and she wasn't going to let this one end so easily.

Jack tried to pull away from the kiss, but Kim's hand pulling his body flush against hers removed any notion he had had about that being it.

Jack took a chance and his tongue left his mouth to press against Kim's puckered lips. It wasn't long before hers came out as well, the tip meeting his own before they began tracing each other.

Kim finally broke the heated and charged kiss when she had to admit they needed air. "Don't talk," Kim ordered as she leaned back in, meeting the young captain in a searing open mouthed kiss.

"Kim, we need to talk, though," Jack nearly pleaded, Kim kissing his neck as he said so.

"If you're going to tell me you want me but we can't, I will kick you right in your melodramatic balls," Kim growled.

"Not exactly, my Scorpion," Jack said, feeling a lot more confident after their making out. "I'm saying that I do want you, and I don't give a damn that we can't. I'll have you anyway."

"What makes you think I'd have you, Captain?" Kim's eyes that looked like amber from the light of the moon were all play and sass, betraying her business like tone.

"You can't say that after that kiss," Jack chuckled, resting his forehead on hers, staring into her eyes without feeling like he was intruding this time.

"Alright, I guess I can keep us hush hush," Kim said with a smile, rolling her eyes. "And Jack... I trust you completely," she whispered.

Jack kissed her again slowly, lingering but nit deepening the kiss. "I know it must have been hard to find, your trust in me... but I've never wanted someone's trust more. We can do this thing, but I want to be more than your business partner," Jack said, and Kim could feel nothing from him but his warmth.


	6. Grapevine Fires

**Please listen to "Grapevine Fires" by Deathcab For Cutie**

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"Come in!" Jack shouted as the expected 8:00 am knock sounded on his office door. The knob turned and in stepped Lusa, looking afraid instead of like someone who would taste freedom again.

"You wanted to see me, Captain Brewer?" Lusa was trying not to visibly shake in front of him. It was another two hours before she would depart on one of the busses that would bring in the new cattle. Jack could do a lot to a prisoner if he was sick.

"Please relax, Lusa," Jack said with a straight face, thinking a smile would make her even more nervous. "Take a seat."

Lusa shuffled ever so slowly across the room, her brown eyes never leaving Jack's. She saw concern and even kindness in Jack's eyes, though his face stayed stoic. Lusa hadn't expected that. Maybe she wouldn't be beaten or worse.

"You know my name?" Lusa asked quietly, trying to hide behind her hair.

"I do. And I know Kim's name, too," Jack said with a little nod. "I plan to know the incomings by name, too." Jack couldn't help but smile at the shocked look on Lusa's face, even behind her long dark hair. "I asked you here because I have an offer for you. There are people here that don't want you to go. But I can't keep you as a prisoner. So, I want you to work _for me_."

Lusa sat stunned, unmoving and unthinking. Jack wasn't even sure she was breathing. "All I want you to do is, well... bookkeeping, really."

"Are... are you serious?" Lusa tried to find her tongue.

"Oh yes. Kim would sorely miss you. Jerry would surely be a wreck," Jack said knowingly and Lusa's face became a tomato. "I really hate desk work and I've got just too damn much to do."

"Will I stay in the barracks?"

"The barracks are for the prisoners, Lusa. You'll live here in one of the guest rooms, one of your choosing, of course," Jack said with a smile. "I will be paying you personally."

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Jack and Kim sat on their horses before the gate of the camp, the dust from the approaching busses in the distance.

"Does this hurt to watch?" Jack asked softly, his hand brushing Kim's but not holding it like he wanted to.

"It used to, but not anymore. I've resigned myself to my fate here. It's one of the reasons I'm a foreman. It's a project with no end. I'm here till I die."

The evenness of Kim's voice on such a terrible subject wounded Jack. "But it doesn't hurt anymore for another reason." This time, Kim did venture to take Jack's hand, though only briefly. "You're making this prison a new home, Jack."

Jack smiled at her, wanted to kiss her lips. It burned his heart, his throat, brains and lips just how badly he cared for this girl. In such a short time, Jack couldn't put a finger on how the wronged empress had worked into his heart so easily. At first he wanted her to return to the thrown just to see Ty off and a Crawford back on. Now he wanted the name and the heart on the throne.

"Jack, you're staring," Kim informed him with her knee weakening, lip biting smile.

"Sorry," Jack shrugged and tried to stop smiling.

The first bus creaked to a stop and the door opened, the string of prisoners began shuffling off and forming in front of Jack and Kim. The rest of the busses unloaded and then reloaded with the prisoners returning to the jokes they would call lives.

After everyone had gathered, Jack waited patiently until they had silenced. "Morning," Jack said plainly. "This is Camp 327 and I am Captain Brewer, your warden."

They all began mumbling again and looks of terror spread over their faces. This isn't how Jack wanted to start this. Jack forgot just how much weight his name and gi carried sometimes. It wasn't always good.

"I'm 37..." Jack nudged her, causing her to look to him in confusion. Jack's smile told her how they were going to raise these new prisoners. "My name is Kim, and I'm your foreman. Jack gives me the orders and I make sure we get them done."

"Your project will be food production. It's early in the year. Prepare the fields behind the wall that the loggers have already cleared. I will make sure what we need for planting is here by the time we're ready to plant," Jack informed them. "We're about quotas here. Hours and output. Kim will make sure those are met with flying colors and _I_ will make sure you all do it in good health."

"Are any of y'all farmers?" Kim spoke up and smiled when she saw a small crop of hands shot up. "Sweet. Y'all will head up this project and report to me," Kim said with a nod.

"What about reporting to Captain Brewer?" one of the farmers asked politely, his voice not contradicting or quarrelsome.

"Captain Brewer has more things to worry about than our little garden project. I report to the Captain at the end of the day. Anything you need comes to me, then I go to him once it's worth his trouble," Kim said.

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"Hey Lusa?" Jack asked, knocking on his own office door.

Lusa shot up out of the little corner desk and looked totally frazzled at the young man, her pen still between her teeth. "What can I do for you, sir?" Lusa stumbled.

"Relax. And call me Jack. You're not a prisoner anymore," Jack chuckled. "Why are you at that little dinky desk?" Jack asked, picking up her stack of paperwork and putting it on his big boy desk.

"I didn't want to make myself home at your desk, Jack."

"You're going to be using it more than me, so make yourself comfortable. Just don't load it all up with a bunch of bull crap," Jack chuckled. "But I do need a favor."

"A favor?" Lusa asked, fully nervous again.

"Yeah, I need you to put in a request for this list of items and send it, but put a hold on it until further notice," Jack told her.

"Yeah, I can do that. Just uh, leave it here."

"Alright, thanks. You're the best," Jack smiled and shot her with finger guns. Yes, he's the second most powerful man in the Empire, but he's also twenty.

"Jack, why the hold?" Lusa asked curiously.

"Because Kim's factory crew is going to produce it. I don't want to send the request until it's already cleared our quota."

"So you're using quota for things we need instead of asking Lord Ty to pay for already made items. Nice," Lusa was already on to Jack.

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Jerry fell down onto the sand, dropping his knightstick and brushy his sweaty brunette curls from his face. "Damn, Jack," Jerry chuckled. "You're going to make us killers, man."

Jack chuckled back, but wouldn't tell him yet that that was his goal. "You and the entire guard are doing better, Jerry. I'd almost lead you into combat myself." Jerry laughed at that and Jack knew his comment had gone over his simple friend's head.

"What are you thinking about, man?" Jerry asked, tapping his own head as Jack pulled on his gi top and put his katana over his back again.

Jack sighed. "Thinking about this place, Jerry. How could this sit here in near decay for so long without a soul on the outside giving a damn? I'm thinking about how much we've put into this place and how much left I want to do."

"How much do you plan to change, Jack?" Jerry asked, almost able to feel Jack's anger at the incompetence of those he had been surrounded by.

"All of it," Jack said before walking away.

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"Have a good night, Lusa," Jack said with a soft smile as his newest employee finished up her last bit of business for the night.

"You too, Jack. I'll see you in the morning," Lusa smiled earnestly this time, seeing that Jack was not some big Boogie Man.

Lusa left for the night and Jack found himself in his office alone, staring out the window that overlooked the mansion's backyard. The view bugged him. He had the whipping post removed, but the hole it had been planted in remained. The vision of Kim being whipped there for all to see haunted him to no end.

Jack almost jumped out of his skin when he felt arms around his waist, but calmed himself because it could only be Kim. He placed his hands over those that rested on his stomach.

"You okay? You look pretty out of it," Kim said, Jack able to hear the pout in her voice.

"Yeah, just tired," Jack admitted, stretching and yawning. The way Kim's hands felt his muscles as they moved under her palms and fingertips. "Long day, long week, long everything since I got here," Jack said with a sigh.

"You've been putting in work for sure, Jack. But it hasn't gone unnoticed by anybody. Everyone knows that the things changing are at your hand. They talk about you with respect, almost adoration. I've even heard the guards say they feel like guards now," Kim said, pride in her man dripping from her tongue. "You're making your name mean something again."

"I can't wait till the day people know your name again," Jack said, turning around in the young woman's arms. "I only ask that you don't toss me to the curb when we're done."

Kim scoffed and kissed his cheek. "That's not going to happen, Jack. I don't forget my friends... or those that are more than friends," Kim smiled and kissed his lips this time, moaning into it as Jack's strong hands found her soft hips.

Kim hopped into Jack's arms without even breaking lip contact, her arms securely around his neck. Jack broke for air and attacked the smooth skin of her neck once his lungs stopped burning.

"I don't remember them teaching you this when you were becoming a Black Dragon," Kim giggled as Jack's tongue traced the hot skin of her throat.

"This is all me," Jack growled, playfully nipping her flesh. Jack groaned for a whole other reason. Someone was knocking on his door when all he wanted to do was make out with his girl and then get some well earned sack time.

"WHAT?!" Jack shouted and Kim had to stifle a giggle as she let herself drop to her feet.

The door flew open and Jerry and two other guards rushed in. "Captain Brewer, Scorpion," nobody thought to question why she was there, "the timber yard next to the dam is burning!" That was all Jerry had to say before the five rushed out.

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Jack and Kim rode up to the scene to see guards and prisoners working together to make the largest bucket brigade the Empire had ever seen.

"Come on you girls, this is a big ass bonfire! You can't put this out a bucket at a time!" Kim shouted.

Jack sat in the saddle, his mind racing. They had already burned up days of quota. How would they save the rest? "You men, get up the damn right now!" Jack shouted, pointing at a group of guards. "Take buckets with you!"

In just minutes the men were up and waiting for orders. "Fill up the man carts!" Jack shouted over the roar and crackle of flame. As Jack ordered, they took buckets of water from the dam and filled the rope pulled carts that had brought the workers up. Once filled, the carts were sent down at break-neck speeds and launched into the fire.

Cart after cart was refilled and sent down, have the lumber burned to ash regardless.

"This isn't working!" Kim shouted. She took off towards the dam at a gallop and slid halfway off the horse to grab a pickaxe without slowing down. She hopped off and began attacking the stone monster with fervor. Others got the hint and joined her.

Soon, a crack formed, then another, another and another. Water began to trickle then pour, other guards and prisoners digging quick dredges to direct the water to the flame. The fire lost ground and was extinguished with water from the dam.

"Close this back up!" Kim shouted and guards and prisoners together worked to stem the flow and plug the holes with mud until the breaks could be properly fixed.

"What the _hell_ happened here!" Jack shouted once things got back under control. "How did this happen?!"

"I don't know, Captain," Jerry responded, his hands caked in mud. "I saw the flame, sent as many people here as I could and then got you."

"So nobody saw this?" Jack sighed, rubbing his forehead, his eyes closed. "Days worth of lumber _just before_ it gets shipped out tomorrow just went up in flames!" Jack was absolutely livid.

"Someone best speak up or I'll work all y'all into the dust tomorrow! Think about the consequences. The one who lit this up speaks up and submits to the Empire's codes or we're all back to starvin'!" Kim warned.

Jack and Kim waited for something, someone to speak. Not a word. "I've been good to everyone so far, haven't I?" Jack asked, sounding like he was back in control of his rage. "Don't make me get mad. Don't piss me off." He waited longer. "You think Martin was bad? You don't think I can be worse?!" Jack was absolutely seething.

"Jack..." Kim whispered beside him, honestly terrified of the man.

"I am Captain Jack Brewer of the Empire's Royal Black Dragon Guard! I am the second hand of this Empire and this shitty little camp has the _balls_ to piss me off and test my politeness? You all have twenty-four hours to send toward the man or woman who did this. After that this camp will receive _my_ fire."

Jack rode off without a word, leaving behind stunned prisoners and guards. Kim didn't even know what to do. She had never seen him like that.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Jack found himself alone again in his office, pissed and staring out the window. How could anyone do that to him, to the camp? Didn't they know what would happen when Ty got word that the shipment was under half of what it was supposed to be?

The camp would pay for it with lack of rations, and Jack himself would be seriously punished for it having happened during his command. He needed an answer, someone to punish before things got out of control. Jack couldn't lose everything he had done for one act of sabotage.

"Fuck off!" Jack shouted at the faintest knock in his door. "It's too early for anymore bullshit!" Jack put his foot down.

The little knock sounded again. With how gentle it was, he started to wonder if it was Kim. So Jack went to the door and opened it a crack before it was forced the rest of the way, knocking him to the floor with a thud. Before Jack could react, he was knocked out cold.

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Jerry knocked on the door to Jack's office after seeing he wasn't at formation.

"Hey Luse," Jerry quickly pecked her lips and looked around. "Where's the Captain?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know," Lusa responded, sounding a little worried herself. "He's supposed to unlock the door for me."

"He's supposed to be teaching us to be in shape and kick ass and stuff," Jerry said with a pout of his own. "Alright, I got this," Jerry smirked and dropped to his knees in front of the door, two bobby pins in hand. In seconds the door was open.

The two tiptoed in and froze at what they saw. The office was immaculate as ever except for the blood stain on the floor.

"Is that... is that Jack's?" Lusa could barely speak.

"You should probably go find Kim," Jerry suggested.

 **XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

 **So I think I've made it clear that there will be a coup (hostile government takeover). Do you want me to allude to to action/violence/the war, or do you want me to go into actual ground detail?**


	7. Collide

**Please listen to Collide by Howie Day**

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"Lusa, Captain Martinez?" Kim asked as she entered Jack's office, completely oblivious to the situation.

"It's cool Kim, just call me Jerry. We brought you here for a... not cool reason," Jerry told her, but wasn't sure how to continue.

"The thing is, Kim... Jack's missing and we don't know where he is," Lusa filled her in.

"Wha... what?" Kim stammered, now lost herself. "What do you mean he's missing? How long? Who knows he's missing?" Kim was frantic.

"We don't know much, Kim," Lusa told her calmly. "He wasn't here this morning to unlock the office."

"And he wasn't at his usual spot outside the walls," Jerry finished. "I came here to find him, I picked the lock and we found blood, but no Jack."

"Blood?" Kim's face fell even further. "Well we need to find him!" Kim shouted like it was a no brainer.

"We don't know how. We thought you would..." Jerry said lamely.

Kim rubbed her forehead and walked over to the spot where Lusa and Jerry were standing, both over the bloodied carpet as if they could hide it. "So we don't know anything about this, except that whoever did this has the power to kidnap Jack Brewer."

"Yeah, pretty much," Jerry confirmed.

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Jack awoke and only saw darkness. He couldn't move anything but his head. "Where am I?" Jack asked the darkness.

"You don't sound too worried. I should have expected that," the darkness replied. Jack now knew he wasn't alone.

"I asked. Where. Am. I?" Jack repeated forcefully.

"Relax boy, I'm not gonna hurt you," the darkness chuckled.

"Then why am I here?" Jack asked, his patience quickly wearing thin.

"Because I'm saving your life. You're right to be pissed about the burned quota, but taking out retribution on the entire camp is going to lead to a riot, your death and then all of theirs when Ty strikes back," the darkness explained.

"Am I still in the camp?" Jack tried a new tactic.

"Yes."

Jack pondered, not sure where to go. "Why can't I see?"

"Uhm... because the lights are off." The lights then flicked on and Jack was momentarily blinded before readjusting. "Better?"

"Much better," Jack said, quickly scanning the room to find his captor. Much to Jack's confusion, he was alone.

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"I don't even know where to begin," Kim shook her head, completely beside herself. "I've never had to do anything like this before," Kim said aloud. _And never for someone I care about_.

"We could... we could begin somewhere simple. Like... is he still in the camp or somewhere else?" Jerry suggested, scratching his head.

Kim stood in deep thought, too many questions racing at once. Who would do this? How? Where would they take him? Why? "We need to figure something out. I think I have an idea," Kim said happily and took off at a run, Jerry and Lusa right behind her.

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Jack's fingers were bloodied and raw from trying to pick at the ropes that tied his hands behind the chair. He had been after it for a while, trying anything to get out. His captor hadn't said a word since Jack's first awakening.

His steely resolve corroded just a bit as he heard footsteps. He looked to the doorway and saw only shoes.

"Are you hungry, Jack?" the man asked, but still didn't reveal his face.

"Am I allowed to say yes?" Jack asked, not entirely sure how much to trust his captor.

"Ah, yeah dude. That's why I asked," the man laughed. "What kind of captor do you think I am? I don't ask if you're hungry just to tell you I won't actually feed you."

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"FRANK!" Kim screamed as she took two steps at a time, climbing the stair cases of the slab. She finally reached the top, kicking open the door of the mess hall. "Frank!" Kim called again.

The young man jumped up from the table and looked at Kim. Lusa was on her right and Jerry, captain of the guard was on her left. "I don't know what I did, but I didn't do it!" Frank cried, looking around helplessly.

"Where's Brewer?" Kim said, her teeth clamped as she marched across the hall. "This has you written all over it," her finger was on his windpipe now, threatening to crush it.

"I don't know where he is. After last night, I began plans to riot if he held to his promises, but I didn't do anything yet!" Frank rattled off, beginning to sweat.

"What do you know about it? Who were you planning with? I want names, and if I don't get them, so help _you_ ," Kim snarled, her finger adding just a bit more pressure to his throat before she gut punched him. "Just remember, I am _so much_ bigger than you," Kim barked and let him fall to the floor.

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Jack heard footsteps again and this time felt no fear. Maybe whoever this was really didn't want Jack to come to harm. But why tie his wrists?

"Alright, I wasn't able to get much, but I got what I could," the man said and finally revealed himself to Jack. He was a short blonde man with a young face and a childish smile. He didn't look like he could hurt a fly. "Oh, let me get those ties for ya. I wasn't sure if you'd try to rip my throat out or if you'd be agreeable," he said with a chuckle.

"So..." Jack began awkwardly as the older man undid his bounds.

"Ouch, what happened to your fingers?" he asked curiously, seemingly not putting together that Jack had disfigured them trying to escape.

"Work hazards," Jack answered lamely. "When can you let me go?"

"Well you're free to leave whenever," the man told him, handing him a bowl of the camp's signature crap stew. "You might want to lay low for a while, just till everything blows over," he suggested.

"How long is that going to be?" Jack asked, taking the bowl.

"Not sure, depends on how good our girl Kim is, and what Ty does," the blonde shrugged.

"What does Kim have to do with any of this?" Jack tried to keep his tone even. Was Kim seriously behind this? She got his trust and now he was god only knows where while the camp hoes to hell. But the man did say this was to keep him safe...

"Relax, Jack. Kim has nothing to do with your being here. She doesn't know that you're even here. She's probably figured out that you're missing, though. Which means she'll tear this whole place apart till she finds you..."

"What do you mean?" Jack played dumb but knew he was right. Jack just didn't expect this guy to know.

"I've been watching you a lot closer than you think, Jack. I know you and Kim are a very well kept secret. I also know that you know who she is, and that you know your own family history. I also know the Empire's history. Here's a quick lesson for you. I was the first Black Dragon," the man said, crossing his arms.

"Rudy?" Jack's jaw fell open. "What? How did you end up here?"

"I was Ty's best friend. We even grew up together. I was just a kid in his father's court, but Ty took a liking to me. Ty's father was on the fence, but he saw I liked Ty for Ty, believe it or not. I was also a student of karate, the best.

"Ty's father decided to put that and my like of his son to use. He instituted the Black Dragons and made me the first captain. After we were established, karate became outlawed and we hunted down any students. I'm not proud of it."

"But how did you get here?" Jack pressed the question again.

Rudy sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "After we started rounding up karate students and masters, we started the camps. Ty's father saw how much he was making off of free, forced labor so he started rounding up any _undesirables_ he wanted to and started shipping them off. I hated it, so I started teaching citizens in private, but someone turned me in. Hell, it might have even been Ty. I just wanted the people to have a fighting chance. So here I am, prisoner 0001, the first of Camp 327."

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Kim sat down on the front step of the mansion, her chin in her hands. "Nobody knows anything, I don't know... what if... who did..." Kim sighed and covered her face in her hands, trying to hide the tears she knew were on their way.

"Kim, relax. Jack's a hell of a tough dude. It's not like you two are a... oh..." Jerry said, the pieces falling together. "Oh Luse, can you believe that? Jack and Kim are totally a..." Jerry stopped when Lusa smacked the back of his head and a pissed Kim licked him in the shin.

"I need to find Jack before something happens to him," Kim sniffled. "I'm a foreman, not a bounty hunter!" Kim was distraught. "I bet Jack would have found me by now..."

"Kim, you're being ridiculous. Jack is a Black Dragon, the best," Lusa pointed out.

"I was too!" Kim shouted, being overwhelmed by everything.

"What?!" Jerry and Lusa exclaimed together. Kim had never told Lusa because she would tell Jerry.

"I was a Black Dragon. I trained with Jack, even. I've known him since we were just young high schoolers, 13 and 14. But I started teaching my friends that weren't Dragons, and I ended up here." Kim thought it best to leave out the part about her being the rightful empress.

"Jack's known who you are the entire time?" Lusa asked in total shock.

"Yeah, and um... we were a couple before I was grabbed, too. We weren't for very long, but we were happy and..."

"In love," Lusa whispered, a tear falling down her cheek and her fingers entwined with Jerry's.

Kim just nodded and bit her knuckle, trying to keep herself together. "It's been hard, you know? Knowing what me and Jack were, but having a hard time figuring Jack out again."

"We'll get your Jack back, don't you worry," Lusa promised her, pulling her off the steps and into a tight hug.

"Thanks, Luse. This means a lot to me. Thank you, too, Jerry," Kim gave the curly haired man a teary smile.

"Hell yeah. I want my badass boss back," Jerry said with a wide smile. "Come on, we gotta be able to do something," Jerry urged them on.

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Jack and Rudy sat alone together in silence, not really sure what to say to each other, but they both knew a lot needed to be said. The problem here in the Empire came down to trust again.

Could Rudy trust Jack not to kill him? Could Jack trust that Rudy was who he said he was, and that what Rudy told him was true. 'Rudy' could be a plant with a likely story from Ty.

"You have trust issues, don't you Jack?" Rudy asked, looking up from his hands.

"Does anybody trust anybody at first glance? Of they do, they're fools," Jack said coldly.

"After Kim, Lusa and Jerry, you still won't trust anyone?" Rudy asked sadly.

"Did you forget that you _kidnapped_ me?"

"It was for your safety!" Rudy refused to back down and threw in an eye roll. "People here like you, Jack. But they don't like being threatened. It's part of your job, I get that, but I don't want to see you have to go through a riot. They're not called riots because they're fun, fella!"

"I get that, and I appreciate it, but I have a _lot_ of things to do."

"Like teach the guards karate?" Rudy challenged.

"Among other things," Jack said crossing his arms. There was no point in trying to deny it.

"Now why would you be doing a thing like that?" Rudy asked, scratching his chin.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Have you seen an out of the ordinary behavior lately? Hushed whispers, people gathering in here before meal times? Anything like that?" Jerry asked the cook of one of the slabs.

"You know, I have..." said the cook. "Little blonde prisoner came in earlier today, asked for two bowls. Always polite, even helped break up a couple fights. So yeah, I gave them to him."

"Where did he go?" Kim asked, trying not to sound rushed.

"He went out the service door. No idea why," the cook shrugged. "Frank and a bunch of guys just asked me about five minutes ago."

"Shit, we gotta move!" Kim shouted and took off. She knew better than to think this was a good thing.

They sprinted down the stairs and to the only door on this side of the slab. It went down into the catacombs of the camp. It was more like a mass grave that a body could be added to and covered up again quickly.

The three soon found themselves in the apex, five offshoots, one for each slab. "These run the entire length of the camp. He could be anywhere, and so could Frank and his people," Kim said, her voice weak from her day of running and worry.

"Well we aren't going to find him by sitting here," Lusa had to keep Kim going. "Pick a tunnel, any tunnel."

Kim jogged straight ahead.

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Jack looked up from his chair and Rudy from his when they heard fast approaching footsteps. "Kim found us already? I mean, the girl's smart but..."

"FRANK!" There was no mistaking that shout as Kim, but it was further away than the footsteps.

Jack's question on what the hell was going on was answered when roughly ten men poured in, a tall curly haired man in the lead.

"You must be Frank," Jack deadpanned. "What do you want?" Jack asked, standing and watching him carefully.

"Jack!" Kim shouted from the stairs, but one of Frank's men closed the door and locked it just as Kim ran into it, cold steel meeting her face. She could just see through the tiny window as Frank and his friends circled Jack and Rudy.

"Well first off, Ty's eyes are on this place like never before and we have you to thank for that. You completely removed my foremanship without even _talking_ to me!" Frank spat.

"Well you should have used it," Jack shrugged.

"You're changing things and I don't like it! I was coasting, not doing a damn thing before you got here, and now that you are here, you have everyone doing more than before for an Empire that hates us. You may have poisoned the camp to your side, but I won't buy in. I'm taking you out. Here and now!" Frank finished, out of breath.

"So I'm guessing you're the sad sack that burned my lumber?" was the only response Jack would give. Jack was far too big to waste his time on this.

Frank motioned for his men to move into action while Kim watched from the other side of the door helplessly. To Jack and Frank's confusion, the men didn't attack Jack and Rudy. Instead, they turned on Frank.

"Don't look at me! Attack them!" Frank shouted, too dimwitted to see what was truly happening. He got the picture too late when he was completely surrounded himself and he stood no chance as they all pounced down on him at once.

Jack and Rudy watched the gang beating as Frank shamelessly cried for help as he was beaten into the diet floor of the catacomb.

"Care to explain to me what just happened?" Jack asked as he unlocked the door. Kim ran in and threw her arms around Jack, not giving a shit that Rudy, Jerry and Lusa were seeing this.

"I'm prisoner number one, Jack. I have the respect of these prisoners like you have the respect of the guards. Together, me, you and Kim run this prison. I like what you're doing and I like you. You have the support of me and Kim, and obviously Captain Martinez. This camp is yours without a riot," Rudy explained. "Frank was a useless rabble rouser that hated the idea of having to do more than just exist. I tolerated him when he wasn't a problem, but with what you're planning, there can be no divisions."

"What I'm suggesting isn't easy by any means, guys," Jack addressed everyone. "I'm proposing a full overthrow of the Empire. Coups, blood in the fucking streets."

"We know, Jack. That's how the current dynasty got here. It's the only language they understand," Kim said, taking his hand. "It's not that I want the throne, it's that I want Ty _off_."

"Jack, I'm with you, you know that. You have the guard. You have Kim and apparently this Rudy dude, so you have the prisoners. Let's do this thing!" Jerry shouted, clapping his hands together.

"Alright. In the spring, we'll make the first steps. That'll give us time to train, prep and plan," Jack said, his head feeling light and his body tingling with anticipation.

"We're further along than you think," Rudy chuckled. "I've been training the prisoners in various disciplines of karate. I know you thought it was Kim, but I've been doing it since the first shipment of prisoners. There are thousands I'll call upon once we move," Rudy said, a cocky smirk in place.

The one thousand camps were ringed around the entire Empire like a buffer zone. If the Empire was ever attacked from the outside, the camps would be the first speed bumps. But the Empire never expected a coordinated attack from the buffer itself and the ex-convicts on the inside. This was definitely going to be a war.

"Let's get out of here. Place gives me the creeps," Jerry shuttered and led everyone out, even Rudy's double agents. Jack and Kim only lingered.

"You were actually worried about me?" Jack asked, looking down at Kim with a knowing smirk.

"Uh, yeah. You went missing and there was blood on your carpet in your office," Kim explained why anyone would be worried.

"That's cute, that you were worried," Jack smiled at her, a warm light in his eyes.

"Yeah, well... we have a lot if history, and I want us to write more together, so..." It was Kim's turn to smile at him, biting her lower lip and twisting at the torso ever so slightly, her eyes not leaving his lips.

"Remember the day they took you? Remember what I said?" Jack asked gently.

Kim swallowed hard, a tear pricking the corner of her eye. "Don't let it change you, baby. You don't, I won't. I love you and that won't change, either," Kim repeated what Jack had said to her so long ago.

"I kept my word," Jack whispered and pulled her close, wiped a tear from her cheek and kissed her hard.


	8. Well Laid Plans

**I would like to make a quick shout out to Zurna and Laurieloo, whose questions and conversation with me has led to the opening of this chapter. This romantic arc is the most in-depth I've done, and hopefully this opening will make more sense.**

 **For this chapter's music, please listen to "Storm's Comin'" by the Wailin' Jennys.**

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Spring was approaching and with the mild climate of their part of the Empire, they were able to keep more than busy. Jack and Kim were preparing, not for the storm that was about to hit, but because they were the storm that was coming.

It was rare the young couple had any time to themselves, but they worked together as much as they could, stole kisses here and there and immensely enjoyed what time they did get. Time like right now, sitting on the balcony of the mansion, Jack reclining on a patio chair and Kim's head on his chest. Jack was looking forward to the day when they could do this without a war ahead. If he made it that far.

Kim heard a slight grumble and turned in his arms slightly, kissing his exposed neck. "What's wrong, hun?" Kim asked quietly, trying not to break the magic of the sunset.

"Nothing, just thinking that eventually we're going to have to leave this chair," Jack told her and kissed her head, deciding not to tell her all of it.

"Hmmm," Kim hummed against Jack's neck, making him laugh. "Don't think about it then. Think about us here and now," Kim paused. "I have been."

"What have you been thinking about?" Jack asked curiously, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I have a question, or maybe I'm just a little confused. We knew each other all along. We dated before, and were in love. Then why did you not recognize me when you got to camp? Why did you pretend I was never part of your life?" Kim's voice broke down to a whisper and she had to hold off a tear. "It hurt to think I was completely out of your heart and mind. Seeing you every day but not having you, Jack... I don't think I would have made it _this_ long," Kim finished and buried her head in his chest.

"The Empire is such an evil force of brain washing and pain, Kim. I wasn't sure how much of what you remembered of me was actually left. How had time and position really twisted each other? How much had allegiances and priorities changed for you? We were young teenagers in love when we were separated, so I see how you could doubt how strong my words were. And I had a role to play to get everyone's trust, and that role included acting like I didn't know you, and that had you wondering how much I had changed and if I was still your boy, but as everything falls into place, we can fall into each other again," Jack rushed, his voice low and his eyes wide with hope that it sank in and she understood. "Does that make sense?"

"Jack, you even said at one point that you didn't just want me on the throne, that you wanted my heart too, but you already had my heart. You still have it after these years of fighting and being twisted. I did doubt your words, and I doubted our ability to both still love each other. I can happily say that I was wrong," Kim said quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him gently, loving the sensation of their lips together as the kiss lingered.

Once they broke apart and Kim got her swimming mind back together, another question struck. "Did you know who I was the first time we were together? Did you know I was the heir when they took me away?"

Jack looked into her eyes, trying see if he had to carefully word his answer and if so, how much. Kim's eyes just asked for an honest answer.

"No Kim, I didn't know. I fell in love with _you_ , I stayed in love with _you_. I was speechless when I found out who you really were. If anything, I had insecurities about staying with you because of it," Jack paused in his speech, their eyes never leaving each others. "I found out who you were after they took you away, Kim. And I knew I couldn't leave you there. I knew I had to get you on the throne and then wash my hands of you," he finished sadly.

Kim had never seen Jack this open and vulnerable. If she wasn't sitting in his lap already, she would feel the need for a basic comforting touch to give him. Jack was a strong man, but here he was laying down fears of his own inferiority to her.

"Jack, don't you ever dare to write me off because of your insecurities," Kim ground out, Jack's face firmly in her hands. "I need you. Not for my throne but because as I've already said, you have my heart. If you leave, you're taking my heart and I need that to live. You understand me?" Kim closed the short distance and hungrily captured Jack's lips.

"Love this hair," Kim said as she ran her fingers through his brunette thick locks. "Love these eyes," she said, hers never leaving his. "I love these lips," Kim pecked him. "Love this heart," Kim whispered as her hands left his hair and slid into his gi to cover his beating heart.

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 **Spring**

Jack, Kim, Lusa and Jerry all rode out to meet with Brody and Milton, choosing to meet at Brody's camp as it was the middle ground.

Jack and company were the last ones to arrive, and were met by Milton and Brody at the gate.

"Jack, you were always one for a posse," Brody chuckled. "I admire your style, though."

"Captain, always a pleasure," the smallest of the three said, shaking Jack's hand as a guard took the horses of the visitors.

"The pleasure is mine, Milton. It's been far too long since we've seen each other. A lot has changed," Jack said with a smile. "These are my friends Jerry and Lusa. Jerry is also captain of the guard at 327."

"Good to meet you two. Hopefully Jack hasn't been too terrible on you," Brody said with a chuckle, his eyes lingering on Lusa for a little too long.

"And you are..." Milton froze in mid question, his eyes widening. "No..." he was absolutely stunned. "Kim?"

"Hi, Milton," she confirmed with a smile, pulling the young red head into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"My god, how long has it been?" Milton struggled to form thoughts as he tried coming to terms with meeting one of his oldest friends.

"Far too long," Kim's smile never faltered. "I believe we have some work to do."

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Milton laid the map down on the office table of the warden's palace. The warden had been easy enough to sway. Milton had a way with words, and may have made the warden a deal about nonexistent estates...

"Milton, I leave the map in your hands. You and Kim were always the best with this stuff in planning. Me and Brody are more on the field leaders," Jack had no problem admitting.

"I think we can all agree, that our first move needs to be securing all of the camps. Those are already running supply lines. Our forces plus the workers inside..." Milton rolled his head ahead in thought, "we should be able to get them to see reason. The guards won't put up a fight if they're sieged on the in and out."

"Do we split up, do we stick together?" Brody asked.

"Good question," Kim chimed in. "If we stick together, the camps will see our size and be more likely to come on our side peacefully. A giant and growing army is more likely to attract Ty's attention, though."

"These are all fair points, Kim," Milton concurred. He also smiled when Jack and Kim tried to conspicuously brush hands. It made his heart glad that after all this time, Jack and Kim were able to find each other and pick up where they were forced to leave off.

"We shouldn't take forever and we have a lot of camps to cover. It'll take a lot of time to take 997 camps. We need to find a way to send word, to get the camps to revolt and join us on their own," Brody said.

"But sending word could alert Ty we're coming if it's given to the wrong people," Milton countered.

"I want us to see the capital before we're thirty," Kim spoke up. "Maybe we could split our forces only in half? Jack and I go one way, you two go the other and we meet in the middle. We cover the same ground in half the time while still being formidable should something happen," Kim finished, her eyes nervously jumping from Dragon to Dragon.

"that seems sound. I say we do it," Milton concurred.

"Agreed it is, then. Time to get our Empire back into the right hands," Jack said and smiled to the girl next to him.

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The two couples sat around the fire Kim had made, Lusa in Jerry's arms and Jack's head on Kim's lap. Together they just enjoyed each others silent company as they watched the flame and embers shoot up into the night sky.

"Hey Jack?" Jerry finally broke the silence.

"Yeah Jer?" Jack answered just as quietly, trying to keep the peaceful and easy feeling the night had.

"Do you... do you really think we can do this?" Jerry asked hesitantly. And just like that, three pairs of eyes were on him.

Jack sat up, knowing this was going to be a real talk. "Yeah, I do think so. Our leadership is superior to the Empire's. Our supplies are the Empire's raw supplies. We pull out that rug and they have unfueled industrialization. They're army is untrained and relies on size. If we play by our rules, this is completely our game. We also have a secret weapon."

"What's that?" Kim asked, laying her head on Jack's lap this time. She sighed contentedly when his strong hands started rubbing her back. The man was a back rubbing god. He always had been.

"Remember the man that 'abducted me'?" Jack said in air quotes. "That wasn't just any man. That was Rudy Gillespie."

All three people froze. "The _first_ Black Dragon?" Jerry said, still shocked.

"Yeah. He was also 327's first prisoner. The only 0001. For over a decade he's been there, teaching prisoners karate. They're on the outside now, thousands and thousands of prisoners that trained under _him_ and continued in secret. We have an army _inside_ the Empire. Even in Seaford," Jack explained.

"That's, that's incredible!" Kim exclaimed, rolling over and looking up at Jack. Jack smiled at her, leaned down and kissed her lips.

"So Rudy was the real reason I had an excuse to come to you."

"Well then I have a lot to thank him for," Kim pulled him back down by his gi collar.

Far off in the distance, thunder rolled and far away stars were swallowed up by threatening clouds.

"We should pitch that tent we brought. There's no way that storm isn't coming right for us," Lusa said, furrowing her brow.

The four quickly scrambled to get the tent and set it in record time, Jack being the last one in just as the rain began to trickle down. The temperature had dropped with the coming storm.

Kim crawled into the sleeping bag Jack was already in and held open for her. Jerry crawled into Lusa's much to Jack and Kim's amusement.

"This is the first time we've slept in the same space, Jack," Kim said with a smile, nuzzling her face into Jack's warm neck as his arms tightened around her, pulling her closer as the rain came down hard on the top of the tent.

"It is, and I rather like it," Jack said, kissing the top of her head and sighing contentedly into her warmth. "We might have to continue this back at camp."

"I don't think you're going to find my bunk that comfy."

"I didn't say we'd be sleeping in your bunk," Jack smiled at her and her knees would have given out if she was standing. He could have whatever he wanted from her and he knew it. He had been a gentleman about not trying to push that.

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Morning came and the storm had gone two hours before first light. The sun shone brilliantly overhead and the world had that fresh clean sent that made Kim sigh when she popped her head out of the tent.

Jack was right behind her, stretching his body when the cool air hit it. He twisted this way and that, enjoying every little pop and crack.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Kim asked with a giggle.

"Feels great, Jack chuckled back as he spread his legs shoulder width apart and locked his finger before bending backwards, seeing the tree behind him.

"We should get back to 327," Lusa said, already breaking down the camp. "The sooner we're back, the sooner we can get on with it."

"Milton and Brody have probably already started their march," Jack agreed. "We don't want to fall behind on the camp conquest game. Whatever numbers they get are their armies."

"Then let's get rolling then!" Jerry shouted, rolling up the broken down tent and stuffing it in the bag. "We have a war to win."

"That's the spirit, Jer," Jack smiled, clapping a hand on the man's shoulder.

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The four rode back to 327 and were met with open gates and a massive swarm of people. Guards and workers alike were all out and screaming the names of their leaders, even Rudy who was currently riding the wave like a rockstar.

The throng floated Rudy over to the confused yet contagiously enthusiastic four. "How crazy is this?!" Rudy shouted over the crowd as he was passed along next to the horses.

"What's going on?!" Kim asked, completely blindsided by the reception.

"Well, I kinda told them why you guys left when they started asking questions, and the whole camp just exploded!" Rudy couldn't keep the ridiculous grin from his face. "I contacted some of my old camp buddies using your office, Jack! The Inner Empire Resistance is waiting on your command!"

"Did you use a secure channel?!" Jack was sure Rudy was wise enough to do so.

"Of course! What do you think this is, my first day?!" The five laughed together at that.

"Everybody, if I could just have your attention for a moment, please!" Jack hollered as loud as he could. Orders of " _Jack's trying to talk! Everybody be quiet!"_ made its way through the throng.

"Everybody needs to get some good sleep tonight. Because tomorrow... we're mobilizing and we're starting this thing," Jack announced once the crowd was hushed. "Tomorrow morning we march to the next camp." Jack got moving again and main street erupted.

Jack and Kim got off at the mansion, having decided that they were going to continue sharing a bed, though extracurriculars were not discussed. Jack was hoping to leave that to Kim.

Jack went to the office first, Kim holding his hand. His desk was still spotless like Lusa left it. He checked the hollophone and saw he didn't have any video messages or requests for call backs. Keeping it all a secret from Ty was surprisingly easy.

Or so it seemed...

"Hey there, brew master!" Ty's face appeared on the screen. "What's shaking, Captain?" Ty was obviously in a good mood.

"Lord Ty, what a pleasant surprise!" Jack said with a fake shit eating grin.

"Yeah, I can tell. Getting yourself a little prisoner action? Nice!" Ty's grin was bigger than Jack's. "So when were you going to tell me?"

"About the girl?" Jack pointed to Kim with a thumb. "This is just a one time thing. She knows that."

"Don't play dumb with me, Jack. I know what you're up to. You may think I'm an idiot, you might be right, but I have smart people! Including your cousin Kai."

"What are you talking about?" Jack shouted, still playing his role. "What does _he_ think I'm trying to do?!" Jack spat. He really did hate Kai, though. That wasn't an act.

"Kai had a gut feeling that you were pulling some stuff and I was like, 'Nah dude! Jack the Brew Man? Pssh!' But Kai was persistent and planted some dudes in the last shipment. Kai was totally right, though. You've been completely rewriting the game over there."

Jack froze. "Am I... am I in trouble?" was all Jack could muster. Ty had caught wind way before he was supposed to.

"Dude, are you kidding me?" Ty chuckled. "Do you know how much money you're saving me by having those little shits doing _everything_ for themselves but still sending shit my way? I've streamlined all one thousand camps to do what you're doing. They have been for months."

Jack sighed a sigh of relief and even shook his head, smiling.

"And making the guards actual guards. I'm kinda not happy about that, though. I sent you there to make sure non-Dragons weren't learning karate, and you're TEACHING THEM KARATE!"

"Damn it, man! They were ready to revolt!" Jack shouted and Ty shrunk. "Did you want me to just let them steam roll my guard and lose the largest camp in the Empire? I gave them better conditions in exchange for happiness and better work. So for all of that, you're welcome!" Jack crossed his arms.

"Check and mate, Brew Man!" Ty clapped. "I knew Kai was paranoid! Kai actually had me convinced you were trying to new world order me or something. Can you believe that? But yeah, you may want to lay low for a while. So uh, don't open you're door because there may be some trained assassins in the hallway ordered to take you out... "

"WHAT?!" Jack and Kim shouted together.


	9. The Near, Unforeseeable Future

**As you will see in this chapter, emotions and events are quickly coming to a boil. I need a final call from all of you. The rest of the plot is the revolution itself and then a quick afterward, more or less. So do you want details, or do you want a wrap up soon?**

 **And for the chapter's music suggestion, please listen to Death Cab for Cutie's "I'll Follow You Into the Dark"**

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"So you two can work this out, and I'll just uh..." Ty made no move to do anything.

Jack just looked at him and shook his head. "We're talking about this later," Jack pointed at him, driving his order home. He turned to locate Kim, who was currently pulling down his curtains and tying them together.

Jack ran to help her while Ty chuckled. "The ole curtain out the window trick! Classic!" Ty clapped.

"Can you _please_ shut up!" Jack barked at him. He threw the window open and tossed out one end of the curtain. "You first," Jack said, taking Kim's hand.

"No Jack, I'm not leaving a second ahead of you!" Kim argued.

At that second, the doors flew wide open. A man in black leather skid across the floor, followed by a second one.

"Were you expecting visitors, Captain?" Rudy said with a smirk as he brushed off his hands. "Whoever paid these losers needs to try harder.

"Don't come in here right now!" Jack shouted, running to the hollophone, but it was too late.

"Why, what's going o..." Rudy saw the screen and stopped dead. "Ty?" Rudy felt his throat close and his mouth go dry.

Ty was completely speechless as he stared face to face with his long lost childhood friend. "Holy..."

Jack lightly punched Kim's arm and the two went into action, engaging with the ex Black Dragons, the only kind of person in the Empire that _could_ be good assassins.

Rudy just stared and blinked, completely oblivious to the fight going on behind him. He didn't even look behind him when Jack was launched over the desk and Kim broke a chair over an assassin's turned back.

"You're alive?" Ty finally found the words.

"Yeah, surprised?" Rudy asked in a challenging voice. He kept his eyes fixed on Ty's even as Jack landed a jumping front kick on the man just out of Rudy's line if sight, Jack going after him as he fell. "Didn't think I'd make it here after all these years?"

"I didn't know where you were! My father told me you were dead!" Ty shouted, completely beside himself. "If I'd have known..."

"What, you would have killed me?" Rudy asked, crossing his arms and sticking out a leg to trip an assassin, Kim immediately following up by dropping a wrestler's elbow on his sternum.

"I would have had you pardoned and back at the palace where you belong," Ty said softer, knowing this was getting tricky and personal. He didn't want to do it here. Not like this.

"But I was teaching others karate!" Rudy admitted. "It's a capital crime. I should be dead."

"I specifically asked for you to... OUCH!" Ty shouted and bit his knuckle when Jack landed a roundhouse, but then roundhoused immediately after with his right to send the assassin over the desk again. "Nice double roundhouse, Jack!" Ty cheered. "As I was saying, I pleaded with my dad to send you to a camp and NOT have you killed. After your service, he couldn't say no."

"You... you saved my life?" Rudy asked, his brain frying from the reunion.

"Yeah Rudes, you're my best friend. I would have said _was_ , but you're still alive! You know what, stay there! Stay in the mansion. I'm taking the first train out there. I'll get a horse, and I'm coming to see you. I'm going to pardon you, you're going to come live with me and it'll be like old times!"

"Ty, I'm not sure that's..." the communication cut before Rudy could protest. "Well..." Rudy said to himself, turning around to see Jack literally side snap kick an assassin through the window and Kim beating what Rudy thought was an out cold assassin with a chair leg.

"Well, we did it," Jack gave a weak fist pump while doubled over, his other hand resting on his knee.

"Yeah we did!" Kim said, pleased with herself and Jack as she dropped the bloody chair leg. She ran over to Jack and jumped in his arms, her lips finding his immediately and her hands digging into his thick brunette locks. "Did you see me?!" she asked like a big child, her lips still brushing Jack's.

"Yeah I did. You're really brutal when you want to be. I'm glad you didn't play dirty when we fought," Jack chuckled.

"Well you weren't trying to kill me," she said with a smile and kissed him again, then burying her face in his sweaty neck. She was slick with sweat from their hard fight, so she didn't care.

"What happened, Rudy?" Jack asked, worry obvious in his voice.

"Ty knows I'm alive. He's coming to see me tomorrow. He wants me to go back to him," Rudy said still in shock, his eyes focused on the plain white wall.

Jack and Kim stood silenced, not sure what to do about the situation themselves.

"We're going to let him visit," Rudy said, finding his strength. "We're going to overpower his guard, and we'll capture Ty himself. The head of the snake is coming right to us," Rudy said with a vicious smile.

Jack and Kim nodded to Rudy's plan, seeing it as sound themselves.

"But I must ask, no harm comes to Ty. He's still my friend. This revolution still needs to happen, but it can be done without killing my friend," Rudy said quietly, a mental and emotional war tearing apart his mind and his heart. He was stabbing his friend in the back, but he was saving Ty like Ty had saved his. It was fair play, but Rudy firmly believed in the need for revolution.

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Jack knew that the war would truly begin tomorrow. The real head of the snake was not Rudy, but Jack's own cousin. Kai.

Kai was no fool, was no weakling. He was smart, devious, and lethal as any blade and poison. Jack's character was what propelled him above Kai in the Dragon Academy, but now Kai was unleashed by Jack's all but abdication of position. Kai was the hurtle. It was Kai's brain Milton and Kim had to beat. It was Kai's prowess on the ground that Jack and Brody would have to overcome. If the revolution failed, Kai was likely to kill Ty himself, Jack figured.

If Kai would be among Ty's party tomorrow, Jack would be the happiest man alive. But with Kai already on Jack's trail, Kai would find some way to complicate tomorrow, there or not. He had already got Ty to sign off on two assassins. Jack expected some kind of Trojan Horse to accompany Ty.

Tomorrow, the war would really begin. Kim's true identity would be released to every reach of the Empire and that alone may spark open revolt in the streets. The usurped would return to the throne and happiness could return to the people. The camps could be honest paid labor and those not directly in the throne's favor could more than just scrape by. Under Kim, crime would lessen with the drop of corruption and removal of Empire widespread starvation. The Empire could stop being at war with all of its neighbors.

The people were tired, beaten, hungry and bloodied. There had been two prior failed revolts, but with the emergence of Kimberly _Crawford_ and _the_ Jack Brewer, Ty's Fist, right behind her, it may be what the people needed for one last attempt at freedom. One last attempt at _life_.

Jack's mind switched gears to a happier subject; the girl herself, Kim. Jack took a massive gamble coming to 327 for Kim. She was the rightful heiress to the throne, but Jack had no idea what time had done to her. He had no idea if she was able to continually punch up against such an oppressive place and keep the traits that made an empress. When Jack did reunite with his Kim, he had never been so happy to have taken a risk.

There she was, covered in dirt wearing a poor excuse for clothing, but she was still beautiful. She was still defiant and witty as ever, if not more so. The camp had given her leadership responsibilities that only made her stronger, and Kim more than rose to that challenge.

Kim had pretended to not know Jack at first, just like he had pretended not to know her. Jack hoped she was just trying to feel out if he had changed. It broke his heart just _thinking_ she didn't remember her Jack. He had staid up nights, laying in bed trying to come up with ways to win her heart again if she didn't remember him. As far as Jack was concerned, living life without Kim Crawford was not, would never be an option. Living without her smile and confident smirk, her golden blonde hair and those eyes that could melt his heart and remove all his will, living without her sass and humor, wit and natural intelligence. After Jack had had his first taste of Kim, there _was_ no living without her.

Jack often wondered in the last year if he would survive the revolution. He didn't know if he would die on some field and his death would give rise to the new throne. He didn't _want_ to die, nobody _wants_ to die. Jack had found it oddly easy to come to peace with, though. He could die peacefully knowing his girl was on the throne and that he did his part in making it happen. He freed her and together they would free the people, even if it meant his death, and that he was okay with.

His meandering mind was put on pause when the door that connected the massive master bedroom to his bathroom opened. His jaw went slack when a billow of steam rolled out, followed by a damp, wild haired Kim.

Jack could smell the camp made shampoo that smelled like wild flowers and honey. He could _see_ how smooth her skin would be to the touch. He wanted to taste the all natural soap on her skin. In that fluffy little bathrobe, all he would have to do is untie and that little cotton string and watch it glide off her silky shoulders.

"Jack, are you okay?" Kim asked innocently, completely oblivious to the young man's wants. Kim untied the robe herself and let it fall to her feet.

Jack chuckled at himself for thinking Kim was completely naked under there. Even in her cotton shorts and tank top she slept in now, she was still a dream. "Nothing, I was just doing some thinking," Jack didn't lie, but didn't get specific.

"Everything okay in there?" Kim asked, stepping to the foot of the bed where Jack sat. She took his head in her hands and pressed his forehead to her belly. Kim bent over and repeatedly kissed his hair until he spoke.

"Yeah, it's just my head is running through all of these scenarios like a hypothetical algorithm," Jack kept to the open ended answers. "Tomorrow and beyond," he let her in a little more.

"It sounds like they're not all good," Kim said sadly while massaging his healthy scalp.

"At the end of every thought, you're still on the throne and the people are happy. So that being said, I'd say they're all good," Jack smiled up at her.

"Where are you at the end of the day?" Kim asked quietly, little more than a whisper. The almost unnoticeable intake of breath from the man in front of her gave her the answer. She took his head in her hands and made him look at her.

They just stared at each other, either speaking, neither knowing what to say. Kim's mind kept throwing out blanks, so she leaned down and hungrily captured his lips with her own. Kim poked her tongue out and massaged Jack's fat bottom lip from where one of the assassins landed a lucky shot.

Jack groaned into the kiss and picked Kim up by her waist, pulling her close so she was straddling him. His hands went into her damp hair and lightly pulled back, making her gasp before placing his lips on her smooth throat. Jack smiled against her skin when her gasp turned to a shameless moan.

"I believe you, Jack," Kim breathed against his hairline.

Jack removed his lips from her collarbone and looked up at her. "What?" he asked, his mind not all there, having been replaced with need and burning lust.

"When you said you would always love me. I know you still do, and I love you, too. I don't want to see you dead. Ever. I don't even like you thinking about dying. You're going to be fine, and I will be, too. I need you up there with me if I'm going to run this," Kim told him, kissing his forehead and then his lips.

"I do love you, Kim. I love this Empire and you're the right one for it. That's why I would give anything for you and for her, even if that everything includes my life," Jack said, holding her gaze and voice strong.

Kim slapped him. Hard and open handed. "Stop saying that," Kim said forcefully. "Don't leave me again. Remember those three years we're just getting back on track from? Was that not its own hell for you, too? I won't let you leave me or our people! You're not going to fucking die!" She shouted and pushed him backwards, both hands on his chest. "Tell me you're going to live. Tell me!" Kim ordered, shaking his naked shoulders.

Jack chose to lay there and not say a damn word. He wasn't going to lie to her, one way or another. He couldn't tell her he _was_ going to die, but he couldn't tell her he wasn't, either.

"JACK!" she shouted and tried to hit him again, as if beating the response out of him would help anything.

Jack caught her wrist and pulled her down on top of him, melding their lips together in a searing kiss. Kim tried to protest, trying to push off of his muscular chest, but the longer he kissed her, the longer her hands staiyed on his smooth, hard skin, the harder it was for her to keep her senses.

She gave into his kiss and began to knead his powerful muscle instead of pushing against it. Jack's hands cautiously went to her firm ass and all her bets were off. She moaned into his mouth and wriggled into his hands and bucked into him, telling him what she needed.

Jack knew loud and clear what that meant, and smiled up at her, letting her set the pace. She sat upright long enough to remove her night shirt and pressed herself back down on top of him. She giggled triumphantly when Jack groaned because he didn't get a good look at her. She growled against his neck and nipped his skin before continuing to dry hump him for all they both were worth. She sighed at the feeling of her nipples rolling over Jack's during their forceful movements.

Jack was impossibly hard below her and grunting with every timed move of their bodies. The friction caused by the clothe of his underwear rubbing against him with such speed and force was driving him close to the edge. Kim's squeaks and pants of pleasure told him how close she was as well.

He hooked his fingers in the hem of Kim's night shorts and pulled them down her perfect legs, her white panties coming with them. They stayed at her knees as she continued to thrust her hips against Jack, whimpering into his shoulder when her bare core met clothe.

It was Kim's turn to not so patiently remove Jack's only and final garment. His cock looked painfully hard and straining as she looked down at it. She thought about foreplay for a brief moment, but decided against it.

She took him firmly in hand and dropped herself down on him with a slap of her ass against his hips and thighs. Jack finally had a look at all of her, but it wasn't lingering because Kim was focused on riding him straight through his bed.

Jack held onto her hips for dear life as he launched himself off the bed up into Kim's wet, scorching heat to be sent back down into the mattress by her powerful down thrusts. The sounds elicited from both of them mixed with the scent of sweat and sex made this the most primal and delicious experience of Jack's young life.

Kim pinned him to the bed by his shoulders and held him steady while she ground her clit over Jack's skin, his cock sliding against Kim's muscle ribbed inner walls. She bit his neck to keep from screaming when Jack pinched her clit himself and she had to ride his fingers and engorged cock at the same time.

She began to shudder and shake and threw her entire body back as her orgasm finally tore through her entire being like ecstatic hot claws. Her trembling and pulsing molten walls squeezed and wrenched Jack's member until he too began to convulse and shake, blowing his full load when Kim's fierce instincts told her to reach back and all but crush his sensitive balls in her small but strong hands. Her hands and heavily fluttering center made Jack give up all he had, and he was more than happy to give her every last thick drop.

Kim collapsed on top of him, both bodies weak and shaking together. Sweat slicked arms wrapped around each other, rushed kisses meeting desperate grounding needs. Mutters of "holy shit" and "I love you"s were spoken at rapid paces coupled with pants and heavy breathing.

The burning inside them receded to smoldering and they could each other in the blissful glow of what they had done together in their last night before their lives turned to turbulent waters.

"Don't ever leave me, Jack. Don't you go where I can't follow you," Kim begged, tears finally winning over and rolling off her cheeks to run down Jack's chest.

"I don't want to, Kim. I don't want that, but I can't let _us_ stop me from doing what I need to do. I want to come back to you after every fight, and I intend to, but death has never cared about love's plans."

Jack wouldn't sugar coat this with Kim. Death was a very real possibility, and he knew Kim knew that from the abandon they had both shown in what they had just done. She knew it, but couldn't find it in herself to accept that she and especially not her Jack, were mortal. If Jack wasn't with her, she didn't know if she wanted all Jack had promised.


	10. Separate Ways

Dust was coming up the road, the tell tale sign that someone was approaching 327. They were coming fast and it was quite a bit of dust. Ty didn't come alone.

Rudy, Jack and Kim watched from horseback while the guards and prisoners stood in formation. They could be taken as prisoners forced to be on their best behavior, but the weapons hid in trap doors in front of each man and woman couldn't be mistaken for ceremony.

"Think this'll really work?" Kim asked, biting her lip.

"I'm sure of it," Rudy said confidently. "He'll probably have no more than twenty Dragons with him. Twenty Dragons can't do anything by themselves against five thousand soldiers."

The gate opened and the first strike was moments away. Jack cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, waiting.

"Kim, you know the plan as well as I do. When it's time, give the order. You need to lead us now," Jack told her, firmly taking her hand in his. "You're the Empress, I'm a soldier."

Kim nodded and squeezed Jack's hand, still holding firmly when the first Dragon came through the gate. Nine more followed, then Ty, then ten more Dragons.

"Where is he? Where's my main man Rudes?!" Ty shouted, hopping off his horse. "You all look great, by the way," Ty said with a smile as he passed. "There you are!" Ty's face lit up when he saw Rudy.

"Now!" Kim shouted when Ty and his Dragons were in the center of the formation. They jumped to action and lifted the doors, grabbing swords, axes, spears and small round shields. Whatever Kim's factory and crafts people had time to make.

"What the fuck?!" Ty shouted, spinning around. "Rudy, what's going on?"

Kim answered instead, "Dragons, lay down your arms and no harm will come to you. Ty, descendant of an usurper, today begins my take back of what is mine."

"What is yours... what is yours..." Ty racked his brain to see what came up. "If you want a pardon so you can have your shitty little life back, just say so, damn!"

"The throne, you god damn Christmas nut! I'm Kim Crawford of the same Crawfords that were on the throne before you! I'm taking it back!" Kim shouted, not sure where the power came from. Jack told her she was going to be a leader, and it scared her how natural it felt.

"You're a Crawford? Damn girl, if I would have known that, I would have had Jack kill you a long time ago," Ty chuckled like it was no big deal. "Jack, do me a huge solid and kill her please," Ty said with a simple hand wave.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Jack said firmly, putting an arm around Kim. "I told her who she was and what she's entitled to. You don't see five thousand prisoners and five hundred highly trained guards anymore. You see an army of 5,500 free men and women fighting for a just Empire."

"You're in on this? And Rudy, you too?" Ty's eyes began to water and his bottom lip quivered.

"Yeah Ty, we're in on this," Rudy confirmed. "Your dynasty has done nothing but served itself and degraded the entire Empire. The Brewers have done all they could through council to save it, but it's time for the Crawfords to rise again and fix the mess your family made."

"Seize Ty and cut down any Dragon that stands in front of him," Kim ordered. The army took an aggressive stance, and the intelligent Dragons stayed their weapons to not go to a pointless death.

The Dragons stepped back and Ty was led forward but not manhandled. "So are you guys going to kill me or..." Ty asked, knowing he was at their mercy.

"Your father tried to have me killed, but pleaded for my life," Rudy said solemnly. "I won't forget that. In return, I've spoken with Jack and Empress Kim. Because you saved my life, yours is safe with me."

"Holy... Rudy man, you will not regret not having me killed. I don't even want the throne that much anymore, really! I mean, the pressure, the late nights, being all alone and stuff, Kai waging wars without even _asking_ me!"

Jack and Kim shared a look at the mention of wars. "Ty, what wars?" Jack asked, leaning forward in the saddle.

"Kai's been declaring war on a bunch of neighboring tribes outside the Empire. He's fought a few battles, but nothing huge," Ty explains.

"Kai's waging war hoping tribes will attack the camps. Also, he's seasoning his troops," Kim guessed at Kai's motives. "He knows we're going to war and that other camps are going to be our supply line and troops."

"We've gotta get to the other tribes and tell them what's going on. We can't fight them and Kai," Jack says urgently.

"Jack man, I got this!" Ty says excitedly. "Let me do my part in fixing stuff. Send me with the Dragons to the tribes Kai has been warring with. Furthermore, I'll tell them of the rebellion. I know how big of a dick my dad was to them, so they'll definitely want to take down the Empire. They're already at war so they can't say no to an ally."

"Ty, you're making sense. What happened?" Rudy asked like it was ground breaking.

"I don't know, it just kind of... poofed into my head. If you don't trust me, I totally get that. Send Rudy with me. Two best buds on a road trip to save the rebellion!"

"Hell yeah we don't trust you!" Kim challenged. "You were the Emperor five minutes ago. Why would you help an overthrow?"

Ty rolled his head and his eyes at the challenge. "Because I hate that job? Didn't I just explain that? Everyone hates me, there are little baby rebellions all over the place because my father 'taught' me how to rule. Jack was the one that always made it okay and he's on your side. Rudy's on your side. Kai pretty much does everything for me. You could kill me if you wanted. I'm not a bad guy, I swear! I just don't know any better," Ty poured out his heart.

"Alright Ty, I'll go with you. We'll talk to the tribes," Rudy gave in to his old lost friend.

"Alright," Kim nodded, giving her consent. "The rest of y'all, get your gear because we're moving out in exactly half an hour!"

"Well Kim, your army just found out their foreman is also the Empress and they seem pretty okay with that," Jack smirked and flicked the reins, his horse moving on.

"They found out what just now?" Kim asked in a daze. "They _just_ found out who I am?"

"Yeah. I never told them," Jack shrugged. "They were cool with us leading the Empire before and they're just as educated as you were before I let you in on your family secret. Now they know just what horse they're backing."

"Should I _not_ have said all that in front of them?" Kim was beginning to worry about her mouth and her temper.

"I feel like it was a good morale boost, actually," Jack said, his tone still very business like. "Come on inside. I have something for you," Jack told her with a smile.

"I feel like I should be wary, but your smile gives me butterflies," Kim thought aloud.

The couple dismounted and entered the mansion, Jack leading her up to the office. He continued through the office and to the bedroom behind it.

"Jack, don't we have a little too much going on for uh..." Kim bit her lip and looked to the bed.

Jack laughed at her and shook his head. "That's not what we're up to, Beauty. Maybe tonight, though," Jack said with a wink as he crouched on the floor and dug under the bed, pulling out a small wooden chest. He opened the chest and Kim could see his smile but not what he had.

"Jack, come on. You know I hate surprises," Kim almost begged.

Jack finally stood and set the chest on the bed. Kim joined him at his side as he opened the chest. Her jaw dropped and his smile grew.

"I brought this with me. I stole it from the Imperial Archives for you. I can't promise it will fit, but we can adjust it quickly," Jack told her as he held up the green and white leather gi of the Line of Crawford. "Go ahead, put it on," Jack urged her, his eyes bright with pride.

Kim quickly stripped to her underwear and didn't so much as blush when under Jack's intense gaze. They had spent their first night together last night, and neither felt regret or shame.

Once incased in the worn but comfortable leather, she rushed to the mirror and smiled at herself. She looked like a warrior, a leader, a Crawford.

"You're gorgeous, Kim. Have I ever told you that?" Jack asked in a whisper, standing behind her and sweeping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her hot, soft skin.

"You have, but we have a lot of time to make up for," Kim moaned as Jack brought his hands up and massaged her pliant muscle through the gi.

"I think we started catching up on something last night..." Jack chuckled deeply and nibbled Kim's exposed neck. "I think we may need to play more catch up tonight," he smirked against her neck and he caught her as her knees actually buckled a little. "I think I'll take charge this time."

Kim shuddered again, but was able to find her mind. "We should probably get back to business before we make our own army late," Kim suggested, turning in his arms and kissing his waiting lips. "Definitely to be continued," she growled and left him behind.

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Jack said goodbye to his office and mansion that had come to mean quite a lot to him. Kim didn't seem to hold similar sentiments, which Jack could understand. He didn't have the hard times here that Kim suffered through.

"Come on Beauty, let's get you out of here," Jack said as he helped Kim into her saddle. She didn't need help, but she appreciated Jack's care and chivalry all the same.

"I'm going to miss what we did here, the changes we made, but I'm not going to miss this place," Kim said softly as her eyes flitted from the mansion to the streets to the slabs and then to the open gate that had sealed her in this hell for three years.

"We're leaving this place behind, Kim. We're freeing so many more like you that won't ever have to look back," Jack said, taking her hand to squeeze it before letting her go and jumping into his own saddle.

"Alright you men and women! Until this day you were denied the taste of freedom!" Kim addressed the 5,500 troops that would fight to overthrow a throne that sat crooked and twisted for one hundred years. "We march today towards a new beginning for ourselves and a future worth living for our young and yet to come! Come with me and fight for that life, fight for what we deserve but are forced to take with blood!"

Kim rose high in the stirrups, a fist in the air as the men and women around her roared and begged for the chance to remove those that cast them so low. "For your present and the future, march!" Kim called and as practiced, the streets of 327 seemed to come alive themselves as the occupants poured out of the wall and turned down the dirt path that had led them there.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked with a smirk as he, Kim, Jerry and Lusa watched their forces move forward.

"I feel like we can make a difference," Kim sighed, a warm smile on her face. "We have a lot of work to do, and nobody told us it would be easy, but someone needs to fix this Empire, and who better than us?"

"Nobody, that's who," Jack smiled and took Kim's hand in his, kissing her knuckles. "We have 5,500 soldiers. Brody has another 3,300 along with Milton's 2,200. We have a combined force of 11,000 men and women. That alone is enough to put Kai on the defensive."

"11,000? That's a nice start, but we'll need far more to topple the Empire," Kim said, running a hand through her hair. "Like I said, it won't be easy. It's literally going to be a war, but I think it's one we can win. After a few victories, I think it's only a matter of time before the citizens of the Empire start choosing sides, then we have a real civil war," Kim flicked the reins as the last of the troop began it's movement, Jack, Lusa and Jerry falling in next to her. They all wore the gis of the past Crawford dynasty. They were no longer subjects under Ty's rule.

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Night quickly approached the army, much to the disappointment of the four leaders. They were still a day's march from Camp 328, and they had no idea what to expect. Would the camp go willingly, guards and all? Would they have to lay siege? Did a warring tribe riled by Kai already sack it?

"Kim, we have to stop for the night," Lusa urged. "The troops have to be tired and we may have issues trying to find our way in the dark."

"She's right, Kim," Jack concurred. "We can start at first light, but getting camp set up before last light is the best call."

"Damn it! Alright..." Kim gave in, wishing for more to show for their first day.

"You can't expect us to move a whole mountain in a single day, Kim," Jerry added in sadly. "You could probably use some rest yourself there," he suggested.

"Jerry, please move it down the column that we're setting up camp for the night?" Kim asked with a smile. She was the Empress, but that didn't mean she had to be a bitch about everything. She also would never forget who her friends were.

"Yes ma'am," Jerry saluted because he thought it was fun, and took off down the dirt road with Lusa at his side. The couple were all but inseparable.

Jack and Kim both quietly laughed at the two but soon realized they weren't much better.

"Oh my god, are we like that?" Kim asked, realization dawning on her.

"Yeah, probably," Jack chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I don't even care. I probably would if I wasn't willing to admit that I love you yet, but we're past that," Jack said, loving the way Kim smiled at his words.

"Well I love you too," Kim said, tilting her head slightly up and turning her nose at him. Jack only laughed as he watched as the road cleared and the fields on both sides became active with the hustle and bustle of setting up camp.

Nobody was a fan of the act of setting up camp, but everybody fought with it as quickly as possible because it held the promise of rest and relaxation for a couple of hours. It was like watching ants.

Soon the entire camp was set and everybody was relaxed and setting about to light happy camp fires. Jack began sniffing the air and he could already smell smoke before any fires were lit.

"Jack, why's there smoke coming from up ahead?" Kim asked nervously.

"Nah, that's never good. It's all billowy and there's a lot of it," Jerry commented.

"Jerry, go get twenty riders. We're going to go check out the smoke," Kim declared. Jerry's first real mission was to raid an Imperial ranch that was a five day march from the camp. Jerry had returned with two hundred horses and fifty heads of cattle.

Jerry did as told while Jack and Kim rode to the front the camp and waited for Jerry to return. Once assembled, Kim waved them forward and they stormed down the worn dirt path.

It was a short journey by horse to the cause of the smoke, and much like Jerry said, it wasn't a good thing. Kim's jaw dropped when she saw the gates of 328 wide open and smoke rising from behind the walls.

"No, no no no no!" Kim shouted as she tapped the sides of her horse and galloped into the burning camp.

"Kim, no! It's a trap!" Jack cried out as the gate closed directly behind her, the others just short of joining her. "No!" Jack shouted again.

"Jerry, go back and fetch the rest of the cavalry. Lusa, stay here. I'm going to find a way to get that gate open," Jack directed with an unmistakable resolve.

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Kim looked around, nearly blinded by smoke. She couldn't see more than ten feet in front of her. One thing caught her attention, though. The coppery scent of blood and the ominous, brooding feeling of death that lingers over a battleground was absent.

Kim was robbed of her vision, so she closed her eyes and centered herself to rely on her other senses. She dismounted and removed the katana from her back, the hairs standing on the back of her neck promising her that Jack was right in this being a trap. She certainly wasn't alone.

She heard the first sign of movement, rapid footsteps. She called her breathing and waited, waited, waited. Finally when the footsteps were right on top of her, Kim opened her eyes, side-stepped the charging warrior and brought the razor sharp blade of her katana across his back.

She waited for the next one, her eyes again closed. Again, she waited for the attacker to be directly in front of her. This time, Kim didn't open her eyes until she felt soft flesh around her blade, the fool impaled by an effortless thrust.

They had to know soon that one on one attacks would be too easy for Kim. They would soon come in groups and overwhelm her or make her tired. Kim wasn't going to give them that chance.

Kim took a chance and began stalking forward, katana at the ready. She wouldn't alert them like they had alerted her of their presence. She knew if the smoke could hide them, it would hide her as well. The deeper she went, the higher her anxieties rose.

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Jack stood outside the wall, searching for any way he could get in. Luck was with him for once when he found an uncared for section of wall, long veins of ivy growing unchallenged.

Jack took a thick vine in hand and smiled to himself as he began his climb. He wasn't sure if the wall would be watched or if he could get to the gate house unchallenged. Anyone in his way would be cut down without remorse or a second thought.

He sprinted across the wall that was wide enough for only two men at a time. He didn't care about alerting others to his presence. Something in his gut told him Kim was still free somewhere in here, and he would buy her all the time he could.

Jack was able to reach the gate house without a problem and opened the massive doors. Without any order, Lusa and her riders surged through the gate, weapons drawn. Jerry would be there soon with the rest of the cavalry and there may be a real fight on their hands.

"Nobody leaves until we find her," Jack ordered from the wall.

"Jack, the smoke is still thick enough to cut and it's getting dark. It'll be a while before Jerry is back with the cavalry," Lusa pointed out.

"Did I stutter?" Jack dared Lusa to challenge him.

"No..." Lusa said quietly, staring at the ground. "I don't want to lose her either, Jack. She's my best friend," she sympathized.

"She's the Empress. If Kim is captured or any harm is done to her, that's the end of the rebellion and the end of all of us," Jack seethed.

"Are you going to admit _you_ need her too?" Lusa asked, now at the wall below where Jack stood.

"Yes," Jack whispered, Lusa's ears strained just to hear him. "Fuck it," Jack growled. Go back to Jerry and stay with the main force. Relink with Milton and Brody. This smells like Kai. He knows what we're up to and we can't risk dividing our forces."

"What about you?" Lusa asked, afraid of the answer.

"I'll come back as soon as I have Kim. She asked me not to go where she can't follow, and right now, I _can_ help that. I'm going to get Kim back alone."

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 **I know it's been far too long, and I'm so sorry. I haven't even been that busy, but some things have been happening lately that have sapped my will to write this. I think I'm back, though. And after this story, I'll tell you all what's been happening with me by reopening** _ **Holding Out For A Hero**_ **after this story is done.**


	11. I Will Find You

**I** **should have made a note of this the first time I introduced Lusa, in this story and** _ **IJNAL**_ **, but Lusa is played by Zendaya Coleman in my mental casting. I like to cast my OCs. Also on that note, my new character, Asta, is played by Yvonne Strahovski from the TV shows** _ **Chuck**_ **and** _ **Dexter**_ **, if anyone's interested in a google search for a better visual.**

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Kim was no fool. She wasn't just going to waltz around until someone found her. With the smoke still thick but now thinning, Kim ducked inside an outbuilding she knew wasn't on fire. She'd lay low and get some rest, figure something out at first light.

She found herself in some kind of machine shop and cursed her lack of luck. It was pitch black and only holes in the walls allowed her to see little spots clearly. Comfortable sleep wouldn't be possible in her surroundings. Every little sound would set her on edge and keep her from closing her eyes. This night would be hell, and she had to go through it alone. No Jack at her side. To her it felt like her first night at 327 all over again.

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Jack was not so patient. Jack intended on walking around until he found someone to take his problems out on. If he had to kill everybody here to find Kim, so be it.

The smoke was lifting and a wolfish smirk took over. He saw two Imperial soldiers talking and decided to eavesdrop before slaughtering them.

"Commander Kai will be happy to learn we've successfully brought down a camp before Jack could liberate it, won't he?" one of the two asked.

"Of course he will, Corporal. What he'll be less pleased about is that WE LOST THE FUCKING EMPRESS!" the higher up shouted, shoving the simple foot soldier to the ground.

Jack knew it was only a matter of time before Kai figured out about Kim's existence and what it meant, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. He also had to smile to himself because Kim had apparently slipped past them. That was all he needed to know. Now he just had to find Kim wherever she happened to be.

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Kim woke up the next morning and trained her ears for any sound that would tell her if she was alone or not. When she decided it was safe to peak out of the building she had taken refuge in, she found out she was indeed alone.

Kim tiptoed out into the morning air and was happy to see clear blue sky. She thought about investigating, seeing what had happened here yesterday, but a gut feeling also told her to get the hell out of Dodge.

She ran to the wall to see the gate was again wide open. Much to her dismay, it wasn't as simple as just walking back to camp. A long line of Imperial soldiers was winding it's way down the road towards the rebel camp.

"Damn!" Kim cursed her luck. She wasn't sure she would be able to sneak past a force of over a thousand men without being seen. She also couldn't let them storm the camp without warning her people.

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Kim had escaped and Jack had to find her, that much he knew. Kim was smart, she would go in the opposite direction from the one thousand people that would love nothing more than shipping her to Kai.

Jack trusted Jerry and Lusa to dispatch this force and liberate the prisoners they were transporting. They were delivering two thousand potential warriors right to them. Jack smirked at the thought.

With Jack sure of Kim's mind, he set off down the road towards god only knew where. He also figured Kim would skirt the road so as not to get lost but not to be so easily detected. She would be able to read traffic to keep an eye on possible friends and obvious foes. Such as Jack wandering the roads alone.

Jack felt bad for any group of Imperials under one hundred men. Jack was in a rare mood for blood, and any blood on his sword was blood incapable of spilling that of his friends. Blood incapable of hurting Kim.

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Kim kept to the woods along the road, staying low and moving quickly. She had to get to camp first, which shouldn't be a problem. The Imperial body was moving slow, the workers of 328 in the middle of their ranks. Five hundred soldiers in front and five hundred behind.

It would take all day for Kim to travel back to camp. It would be nightfall before either force could hope to organize let alone engage. Kim was good, but she wouldn't dare fight in the dark without Jack. Kim was new to practical command instead of just theoretical and textbooks. Jack had the charisma and experience that the troops would need to carry them.

Kim didn't even know where Jack was. Did he go back to camp for reinforcements? Did he find a way to go in after her? Where were Jerry and Lusa? All she knew was that she was alone right now. She knew what she had to do. She had to lead the army to its first victory and free two thousand men and women. She had to be strong. She had to put away personal problems for now and see that the rebellion didn't fail before it could truly begin.

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"So let me get this straight," Jerry said, his hands clasped together. "Kim fell for a trap and Jack went after her, then told you to come back here to link up with Milton and Brody while he finds Kim?" Jerry tried to catch up.

"Yes, that's correct," Lusa confirmed.

"I mean, I know I'm not Jack and all, but, maybe we should keep moving forward instead of back, you know? Aren't the guys gonna get pissed if we keep bouncing back and forth instead of doin' stuff? We need to do something cool or everyone's gonna think we're not actually doing anything."

Lusa chewed her lip for a moment as she mulled over Jerry's words. She found him to be right. They would think this was all some kind of game. Morale would bottom out if they didn't make something happen soon.

"Okay, fine," Lusa said with a sigh. "We'll keep them moving forward. I just hope we don't get in over our heads without Jack and Kim."

"Relax baby, we got this," Jerry said confidently. "If Jack didn't trust us, he wouldn't have left us in command. He wouldn't have given us any orders."

"We're breaking the orders he did give us!" Lusa argued, now thinking about forgetting Jerry's words. She cursed ger indecisiveness.

"Yes we are, but for something better," Jerry continued to argue. "Oh, look at that! Camp is done," he pointed out with a smile. "Let's go do big things," Jerry leaned over and kissed her cheek before riding off to the head of the column, a small entourage of cavalry behind him.

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Jack had been moving down the same road for some time now, not having seen a single soul. That didn't surprise him, given this was a supply and prisoner transport road. As Jack's aggression ebbed with time, his common sense came back. Maybe it wasn't a great idea to go for the throat of anything with a pulse.

Jack had to find Kim and he couldn't do that if he was maimed or dead. Allowing arrogance and pride to pick a fight he couldn't win wouldn't help anyone but Kai. Jack was possibly the deadliest man on either side of the rebellion with a katana and martial arts.

Jack was reduced to an average man when faced with the lethal single handed crossbows every soldier was issued. With twenty one foot darts per soldier, the need for archers was removed and every battle began with a hail storm of steel tipped darts before hand to hand combat could even begin. Jack could win any fight one on one, but the crossbows made him a mortal. He was a great shot, but he couldn't best thirty men by himself.

Jack was beginning to wonder how long it would take him to find his poor runaway blonde. What shape would she be in? How long would he have to look before he found her? He refused to think the worst. He knew she was smart, strong and capable.

His heart was pulling itself apart in his chest. He wanted to believe she was untouchable, that she couldn't be hurt. He was also her lover, meaning his heart wasn't listening to his head. He feared that they had recovered her, that they had already put her to the sword or were torturing her just because of who she was. He was petrified that she had been harmed in her escape and she was weak and hurting, scared and alone somewhere. He had to find her and the sooner the better, for her and for himself.

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Kim ducked low in the tall bushes that hugged the roadside. Perfect for ambushes, the blonde fox mused. She heard someone ahead, and by the sounds of it, a great host. Had there been another Imperial regiment that left earlier this morning? Kim began to panic in her own mind, fearing for her friends and for herself. What would she do if she couldn't get back to her people?

Her train of thought halted when she realized the sound was coming towards her, not going away from her. Kim's first instinct was to stay low and draw the small crossbow from the holster on the small of her back. She removed a small dart from little bag just above it, the opening adjusting to how many bolts remained so they wouldn't slide about.

Her jaw dropped when she saw Jerry and Lusa appear on horseback, and then the entire brigade behind them. She rushed out of the bushes and nearly knocked Lusa off the horse as she jumped on to hug her best friend.

"Oh my god, Kim!" Lusa shouted, hugging her almost sister back just as tightly. "What happened?"

"Kim, welcome back!" Jerry said with a huge smile.

"You saw them close the gate on me, but after that, the smoke was so thick I couldn't see ten feet in front of me. Imperial soldiers tried to take me, but I killed them," Kim said without hesitation. They were at war and she knew it. "I knew I couldn't safely get out, so I hid in a building until this morning and then slipped back out through the open gate."

Kim stopped when she noticed the absence of a very key figure. She kicked herself for taking this long. "Where's Jack? Watching for stragglers?" Kim guessed.

"Jack's out hunting for you, princess," Jerry chuckled darkly. "After you fell for that trap, Jack went all 'oh, I need to find her and I'll blow up the world to do it.' We haven't seen him since last night," Jerry caught her up to speed.

"Jack's still out there looking for me?" Kim double checked like she had a hard time believing it.

"Didn't I just say that?" Jerry scratched his head, not sure himself anymore.

"After the fight I need to find him," Kim said in a rush. "Did you guys get my horse back?"

"Yeah we did, and wait... what fight?" Lusa was dumbfounded.

"There's a regiment of Imperial soldiers heading this way," Kim said as her horse, Badass, was brought forward.

"I don't speak army, Kim," Lusa told her with a 'duh' look.

Kim rolled her eyes at her best friend who was more of an assistant than a soldier. "A regiment is one thousand soldiers, Luse."

"We have five thousand," Lusa stated the obvious.

"Yes, five regiments makes a brigade. We have a brigade," Kim furthered the lesson.

"Then what are you worried about?" Jerry asked, no longer following.

"Urgh!" Kim exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. "We don't have Jack for our first battle, and even though we have a huge advantage, I don't want to throw lives away. We need every soldier."

"Okay, so we're gonna whoop as, then you're on your way to find Jack but you have no idea how to find him. Yeah, that seems smart," Jerry rolled his eyes. Kim and Lusa were both shocked by his attitude. "We have the army. If Jack can't find an army..."

"Jack can find an army, but he may not even make contact with us if he doesn't think I'm here," Kim said and immediately caught the looks on Jerry and Lusa's faces.

"How much do you mean to Jack, Kim?" Lusa asked softly. "This isn't just about you being the Empress, is it?"

"You're asking about how close me and Jack are?" Kim humorlessly snickered. "We've known each other since Dragon Academy at age fourteen. We dated until seventeen when I was thrown into 327. After Jack came for me, he promised we'd never be split apart like that again. That's why we need to find him. He won't come back until he knows I'm safe and can be with him," Kim explained in whole.

"Damn girl," Jerry whistled low.

"Jack's a smart guy, Kim," Lusa told her supportively. "Let's continue our tour and Jack should be able to track our movements. He'll hear about our exploits and he'll know you're behind it. We need to keep this revolution rolling and you know it."

"Yes, we do," Kim said reluctantly, nodding and her head down. "We need to start by wiping out that regiment and securing the prisoners they took from 328."

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Jack waltzed into a nearby village, knowing nobody here would dare fuck with him. Jack didn't know if there was an Empire wide price on his head, or if his role was yet hidden. No one here could cash it in and he would be long gone before a real threat could reach him.

With a worry free mind, Jack went to the local tavern for news.

"Excuse me," Jack said politely as he headed up to the bar.

"Captain Brewer! What brings you here?" the bar keep asked, never having expected to see the young Dragon in person.

"Emperor Ty himself gave me orders to meet a military detachment around here. Has anyone said anything about an Imperial force in the area? They weren't at the rendezvous point and were supposed to be there yesterday," Jack lied through his ass.

"I'm glad you came by, Captain," the man smirked. "The 356th Regiment was here yesterday. They passed through town and the officers had a meal. As I served them, I overheard them talking about hitting Camp 328, then they were going on to 327. Why are we flexing muscle at our own camps?"

"Because a rebellion's coming," Jack answered and left in a hurry, going back the way he came. There was a battle coming.

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"They're going to be coming right at us, straight up the road," Kim said, mapping it out in the dirt. "We can annihilate them by putting a regiment on each side of the road, and then box them in ahead and behind with two more regiments. We'll have one more in reserve and we won't need your cavalry, Jerry," Kim finished. "We have half the ammunition per person that they do," Kim warned.

"I was happy our factory team pumped out that many bolts. We were down to the wire on that one," Lusa said. "They were definitely the camp MVPs," she chuckled.

"Your dam supplied the energy that allowed production," Jerry countered in Lusa's favor.

"The camp was a well oiled machine that sang cumbia, I get it," Kim groaned, rolling her eyes. "Let's get our brigade on the move. The Imperials will be up at any time. I hauled ass to get here first."

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Rudy held up a hand and the small party came to a stop in a small clearing. "Something doesn't feel right," he said quietly.

"What's wrong, bro?" Ty asked, coming up next to him. "You got that weird hair on the back of your neck thing?"

"Yeah I do," Rudy confirmed, removing his katana from his back, Ty and the Dragons following suit. "Keep an eye on the tree line," Rudy warned as his horse continued forward at a torturously slow pace.

"I'm not sure I wanna. I'm feeling some bad joojoo over there, too," Ty confirmed, matching Rudy's pace.

At that moment, an arrow flew, then followed by multiple others. One stuck into the ground close to Rudy. "Your boy Kai pissed off the Wakaidas?" Rudy growled, able to tell from the arrow shaft markings.

"I told you he was pissing off everybody!" Ty barked back as a group of mounted warriors broke from the tree line.

"The Wakaidas shouldn't be fucked with unless you _really_ want a war! Rudy shouted as the Dragons charged forward to engage with the warriors. If they weren't Dragons, they would have no chance.

Rudy, Ty and the Dragons fought wildly against the riders that heavily outnumbered them. The fight turned in their favor until the glade was completely surrounded by warriors on foot. Rudy knew that this fight couldn't be won with only twenty-two swords.

Rudy threw down his sword, the tip sticking into the ground. The others did as he did and the fight stopped before they couldn't turn back.

Another detachment of riders emerged, a tall blonde woman with striking blue eyes and sculpted cheek bones at their head. Her body was strong and athletic under buckskin leggins and a sky blue long sleeve blouse. The Crawford Dynasty katana on her hip caught Rudy's attention immediately. That along with the bow on her back told him she was not afraid of getting her hands dirty.

"What brings the Emperor himself into my lands?" she asked evenly, none too pissed but not friendly either.

Rudy and Ty bowed as low as their saddles would allow, knowing who was speaking to them. "Queen Asta, we swear to you we did not come in hostility," Rudy said, more the diplomat than Ty.

"I figured that by the size of your party," Asta's following laughter was light yet challenged them to challenge her. "My warriors have been oddly bloodthirsty as of late."

"I understand that, and that is why we were here," Ty spoke sensibly. "I didn't want to go to war with you, your majesty. I have been usurped, more or less."

"More or less?" the blonde goddess of a woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's complicated," Ty shrugged and let Rudy do the real talking.

"I am Rudy Gillespie, former Captain of the Black Dragons. You are familiar with the former Emperor, Ty."

"Well met, Captain Gillespie," Asta said with a pleasant smile that made Rudy fight to steady his heart rate. "Ty, we've been on better terms," she mean mugged him.

"We're here to remedy that, and please just call me Rudy," he smiled back and her eye aversion and blush were unmistakable. "Ty has effectively been my prisoner for the last few days. He came to visit me at a camp I was a prisoner at. We turned the camp against him and captured him. Ty's second, Kai, has been calling the shots and was the one who declared war on you."

"What brings you here, Rudy?" Asta asked again, not needing his whole life story.

"Long story short, there's a civil war in the Empire, we're with the Rebellion and we need allies to get this to work," Rudy summed up hard.

"Who leads the rebellion?" she asked curiously.

"Jack Brewer, Kim Crawford and myself," Rudy told her, giving the names he was sure of. He wasn't that up to speed on Milton and Brody's roles.

"Crawford?" Asta asked, obviously intrigued. "The overthrow of the Crawfords led to my people's secession from the Empire," Asta scratched her chin. "I will tell you this, Rudy. I will come back with you. Only me. I wish to meet the other leaders and see your efforts. If I'm convinced it's the best for my people, you will have my hand in this."

"Jack and Kim have forces only a few miles from here. They're on their way to a camp nearby," Rudy informed her. "We should be getting back to them soon."

"I can leave shortly," Asta said with a light smile. "I just have to inform my second of this, and leave him instructions."

"Sweet! It shouldn't take us long to catch up on horseback," Rudy said.

"How close is the camp they're moving on?" Asta asked, becoming oddly rigid in her saddle.

"It's Camp 328. They should be there right about now, or very close to," Rudy said, feeling nervous like Asta's fears were contagious. "Why?"

"Because my scouts reported a force of about a thousand Imperials heading that way just two days ago."

"The Imperials are already there!" Rudy shouted in alarm, turning his horse and leaving in a hurry, Ty, Asta and the Dragons behind him. Asta's second in command would figure things out soon enough.

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 **I only got three reviews last chapter, and I would like to hear more on what you guys are thinking of the latest developments. Without yay or neigh feedback, I don't know how I'm doing, if this is even readable, or if next chapter should have a cool battle sequence. And to be honest, reviews just make my day. So please hit that little review bubble at the bottom and make me happy please. Thank you.**


	12. That's Just One Day

**Just a fair heads up, in this chapter, Asta speaks a few words in her language. It is absolute gibberish and not based on any real language. I'm making my own language database for it word by word as I go.**

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Rudy and Asta rode hard to the southwest to reach the road between 327 and 328. It was a long ride to the road, and a long, winding road between the camps.

"We have to be close now!" Rudy shouted over the sound of hooves.

"How many men do you have?" Asta asked, her hair in three long golden braids that lightly bounced over her back.

"Five thousand infantry, two hundred cavalry and officers," Rudy listed off.

"You're worried your warriors can't defeat one thousand Imperials?" Asta asked, beginning to doubt her decision in coming along now.

"Not at all. I just don't want to miss the Rebellion's first victory," Rudy smiled and Asta flashed a brilliant smile back.

"Hell yeah, dude!" Ty shouted from the back, a million dollar smile of his own.

Rudy could only shake his head and smile at his friend. "Glad you're here, buddy," Rudy said through a chuckle. Ty was just happy to be a part of something still. He wasn't dead or sidelined. Rudy had allowed Ty to still be something. Kai wouldn't have, Kai wasn't even going to attempt a rescue. Even Ty could see that.

"On yáll gij blushe," Asta said to Ty, a warm smile on her lips and a fire in her eyes.

"I have no idea what the fuck you just said, but I think I like it," Ty said, his smile never fading.

"Let us find blood," Asta translated herself.

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Jack's lungs burned and his ribs ached. His heart pounded faster than he had ever felt it before. His legs were jellied and his feet felt like stones but he still ran as fast as his tortured body allowed. Jack would be damned and dead before he missed the fight. His people would not fight without him.

Feet turned to yards, yards to miles. He could feel in his bones how close he was to his goal. If he had to crawl to the front of the line and hold himself up with his sword, he would do that.

Sweat burned his eyes as he passed 328. He wanted so badly to stop, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get himself going again. He had to press on, no matter the pain.

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Kim held a fist in the air and the brigade marked time and came to a halt. "This is as good a spot as any," Kim sighed to herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lusa asked softly, a hand on Kim's.

"Yeah, just a little nervous," Kim admitted. "I'm new to command, so I have a bit of first day jitters," Kim shrugged and tried to play it off like it was no big deal.

"You'll do fine, Kim!" Jerry laughed at Kim's nerves. "You're way smarter than anyone they're throwing at us today. Jack'll be back before you know it. Relax, breathe, and order us to kick ass!" Jerry said enthusiastically, clapping a hand on the shoulder she had just shrugged.

"You guys are right, we got this. I'm just being stupid," Kim laughed.

"You're not being stupid, and it just shows you know something real is happening," Lusa smiled.

"Jerry, were you able to arrange regiments like I asked?" Kim was at that very moment, regretting that she asked Jerry to do it.

"I was with him to make sure everything made sense, and it turns out that Jack had already done it. Each work group of two-hundred was broken into two companies of one-hundred. Ten companies to a regiment and everyone knows where they belong," Lusa filled in Kim.

"The dude is good," Jerry said, obviously impressed.

"Shit, Jack didn't even tell me he did all that," Kim said with a smile and a shake of her head as she worked her hair into a ponytail. She needed to be able to see while she killed Imperials.

"How are you holding up on that front?" Lusa asked when she Kim mention Jack's name with pure fondness, maybe even longing in Kim's voice.

"I can still function, if that's what you're asking," Kim said, no deceit in her voice. "I don't think I've ever been more worried about seeing someone again, though," she admitted softly.

"What about when you and Jack separated?" Jerry asked, knowing they had been separated far longer before.

"That was different. I knew Jack was free and safe. I didn't have to worry about him. If he had been taken instead of me, I don't know how long I could have lived in constant worry and always thinking the worst," Kim sighed. "I wonder how hard it was for Jack to be in his position. I never asked him. He told me he never gave up on loving me or thinking we'd be together again, but he never said how he felt without me," Kim was thinking more to herself aloud now.

"Stop it! Before you make me cry!" Lusa warned, actually waving off tears. "Can we just get this fight over with already?"

"Not without us!" Rudy shouted, he and his party coming up alongside the road. "We made it!"

"Rudy, holy shit dude! Awesome timing!" Jerry smiled at the man who was quite pleased himself. "Who's the Wsmoking blonde?" Jerry asked and received a hard punch to the shoulder from Lusa, almost knocking him off his horse.

The blonde in question laughed playfully and smiled at Rudy, telling him she could speak for herself.

"I am Asta of the Wakaidas," she said with a slight bow. She righted herself, her winning smile still in place. She wasn't watching him, but she could feel that Rudy was still watching her. Instead of creeping her out, it warmed her belly, much to her surprise.

"Welcome, Asta. You must be the eyes and ears of the Wakaidas?" Kim greeted her with her own thousand watt smile that had chipped away over time at the heart of stone Jack had once had.

"I am. Our queen wishes to see this rebellion through my eyes before she makes a decision on whether or not to support it," Asta said. She wasn't lying, but kept her true identity hidden so as not to receive the treatment of a queen. She hoped hiding her identity would allow her to see Kim's true colors, though she wasn't sure who Kim was yet.

"I'm Kim Crawford, and as unused to saying it as I am, this is my rebellion," Kim said with a shy smile.

Asta's eyes grew wide in surprise. "You're Empress Kim?" Asta's voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes... does that alarm you?" Kim asked hesitantly.

"I'm just surprised. You're so young, you're also gorgeous, but above all I can feel that you're a genuinely warm soul," Asta appraised the young leader.

"Coldness and lack of feeling on the throne is what brought us here," Kim told her. "The people deserve a ruler that truly care for them, and between my friends and I, we can give them that," Kim smiled at the people around her.

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Jack's legs, his heart, his lungs, all of him gave out. He fell to his knees and his sweat soaked forehead fell onto the dirt road. He collapsed, rolling to his back and fighting for every breath. Jack truly felt like he was truly suffocating.

Digging deep, Jack found the strength to lift his head up and drop it on the ground in anger, beyond pissed that he didn't have the strength to get back to his people while they fought and died. He didn't even find Kim yet. She would have wanted him to stay with the army anyway. What was he doing these last two days?

His self-destructive train of thought was interrupted by drums. Cadence drums, Jack's mind registered. He had found the regiment.

Jack had made it in time. He would be able to fight after all, even with time to catch his breath and hope the acidic burning in his muscles would dwindle.

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"Okay, I'll take the 1st Regiment, Lusa will have the 2nd and will be on the other side of the road. Rudy and Asta, take 3rd Regiment and stay on the road. Jerry, take the 4th Regiment and bring up the final side on my call," Kim laid out the assignments. "The 5th will stay in reserve unless I bring them up."

"Sounds solid. Let's go to work!" Jerry punched his fists together like a boxer and took off at a jog. "4th Regiment, on me!"

"Jerry's really excited, isn't he?" Kim asked, trying not to giggle. An ambush and a battle shouldn't be something to giggle at.

"Yeah he is," Lusa confirmed. "Jerry would never show it, but he hates himself for having been a guard, let alone the captain of. Jerry wasn't meant to be a guard, but he was job drafted into it. He had to do a lot of things under Martin, and I'm sure you remember some of them, but he hasn't let go of a single one. He really hopes this will wash him clean, but I don't know..." Lusa said glumly, giving them a view of Jerry none had even guessed at.

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Everyone was in place, and now began the longest ten minute wait in Kim's life. She could hear the drums, hear the clanging of swaying supplies and perfectly synced footsteps. The first battle of the rebellion was about to begin.

Finally, the first red and black uniforms came into view from Kim's positionin the woods. Kim readied her crossbow and so did one-thousand others. She waited and waited until they were broadsided with them.

Right on cue, Jerry's 4th Regiment came onto the road and both sides halted. "Dude, you're kinda in my way," Jerry chuckled.

"Ah, that's cute. The escaped prisoners think their little game is going to last longer than one day," the Imperial colonel cocked off.

"Dude, you have no idea how fucked you are," Jerry said, his voice hardened. He raised his crossbow and his first firing line readied as well.

The Imperials readied themselves and showed no fear. Jerry waited, the stand off now in play.

Kim steeled her resolve for the last time and closed her eyes. With a simple squeeze of her finger, Kim Crawford herself had fired the first shot at the first battle of the war.

Her first two lines fired their bolts into the unsuspecting Imperials before drawing their swords, axes and spears. Kim yelled with years of pain, fury and rage as she sprinted forward into the Imperial line, a thousand warriors behind her.

Lusa had fired and was beginning her charge after she had heard Kim's blood curdling scream. Jerry was fully engaged, fighting with more fury than any of his regiment. Rudy and Asta had just ordered a volley into the backs of the Imperial regiment and were charging in.

The Imperials had nowhere to go. They were trapped and hopelessly outnumbered. The prisoners of 328 were arming themselves with the weapons of their own captors and fought towards their liberation.

Kim's breath hitched when she heard a chant of "Jack! Jack! Jack!" coming from Rudy's regiment. She pushed harder and angled her attack towards Rudy's position. She broke through and ran past a gauntlet of prisoners calling her name and reaching out to touch her as she pushed past them.

Finally, as the remaining Imperials dropped their swords in surrender, she had made it through the prisoners. There he stood, covered in sweat and his sword well and bloodied.

"Jack," Kim said his name like nothing was wrong.

"Kim," Jack said just as firmly. They closed the distance to each other and took each others hands in a strong grip. Their eyes locked and they just smiled at each other.

They didn't know what to say to each other, not here, not in front of everybody.

"Come on, there's a lot I need to catch you up on," she told Jack. "Rudy, talk to their colonel. See to our wounded and divide what's left of the Imperials to refill our regiments," Kim ordered.

It was protocol in Imperial civil wars to take prisoners and fold them into the forces that bested them. They were still of the same Empire, the same heritage. War was war and people died, but they still recognized that savagery was intolerable. The Imperials were noble and believed in honorable deaths. Living to fight another day, even if on the other side, was a chance to regain your honor. A soldier could fight for each side ten times each. To be a trader by way other than being captured was taboo at best, and frowned upon by both sides. This had been understood for centuries.

"Empress Crawford, well fought!" Asta said with a beaming smile that contrasted quite heavily with the smear of blood across her forehead. The blood of her first kill of the day. The smear could be there for days, depending on the length of a battle.

"Thank you, Asta," Kim smiled back and tried not to stare at the taller woman's mark of honor. "I'm glad to see you unharmed."

"Who is this warrior you seem fond of?" Asta asked quizzically.

"This is Jack Brewer, my second in command," Kim said, leaving out the emotional ties.

"Captain of the Black Dragons Jack Brewer?" Asta asked for confirmation.

"Former," Jack corrected and reached out a hand and the two warriors grasped forearms. "Well met."

"I've heard stories of you, Jack. In none of them did it say you were so young. The same struck me for Empress Crawford," Asta marveled.

"The Black Dragons are trained young and begin service young to get the most of our youth," Jack informed her. "Kim just happens to be young and a rightful empress," Jack chuckled.

"Where's Jerry and Luse?" Kim asked, looking around.

"You have to ask?" Rudy laughed.

"Right after a battle?" Kim said, obviously appalled, nose scrunched.

"The Wakaidas are much the same way," Asta said completely straight faced. "Well, we bathe first and _then_ celebrate victory and our continued life."

"We should probably move on. There's a river ahead about two miles and a bit. Then we can eat and catch some rest," Jack suggested, his glance towards Kim wasn't missed by her or Asta. Asta kept to herself that she caught it.

Asta's stomach rumbled after Jack's mention of eating. "Once we stop, I must hunt. I didn't have time to bring provisions," Asta said, not making a huge deal about it. She didn't whine or sound bitchy about it. It was apparent to everyone that she was a hardened warrior and survivalist.

"You can if you want to, but I have rations we can share," Rudy offered with a kind half smile.

"I appreciate your offer, Rudy, but I am capable of acquiring my own sustenance," Asta smiled, trying to show no offense towards the shorter man.

A look of hurt flashed across his face before he recovered and nodded in understanding. "Oh, well yeah, I just thought I'd offer, you know, so you could take it easy and stuff..." Rudy trailed off, feeling stupid and foolish in front of his friends and this proud woman.

"Would you like to accompany me, Rudy?" Asta offered, trying to make up for the blow to the poor man.

"I would!" Rudy responded maybe a little too eagerly. Jack and Kim could only smile at Rudy, trying not to laugh at how obviously crushing he was on this woman.

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After a short march, they had come to the river Jack had spoken of. They were thankful the forest had given to plain between 328 and the village Jack had stopped at for information. Camping with 7,000 men was possible in the woods, but easier done in the open.

Jack and Kim had organized bath time into shifts by sex of regiment. It took some time, but everyone was more comfortable with the arrangements. It just so happens that Jack and Kim didn't exactly belong to any one regiment.

After everyone was squeaky clean and settled down for the night, Jack and Kim snuck off to bathe, just the two of them.

"What happened, Jack? How did we get separated again?" Kim asked quietly as she watched Jack remove his forest green over shirt. He had left behind his Black Dragon gi the morning they left. Now he was dressed like the rest of the street clothed rebels.

"Well, after the gates closed, I sent for back up because I wouldn't leave you without a fight," Jack began. "I found a way to scale over the wall and into the camp. The smoke was thick and I couldn't see, but I didn't care. I killed anyone I came across, Kim. I had to find you," Jack said and shuddered, the idea of losing him for good flooded his mind.

"It's okay, Jack. They didn't get me," Kim assured him. "I fought my way to a hiding place and hid until morning. The next morning I saw just how many men there were and I went back to our people. I risked capture because ai needed to lead our people. But as you see, I'm fine, Jack," she said with a heart melting smile that gave Jack breath but took it away at the same time. It left him baffled.

"I thought you had gone the opposite way, so I ran until I couldn't and then I walked to a village. I found out about the Imperials and knew I had to go back and fight with our people, just like you said. And there you were. I should have known, Kim. But what I need _you_ to know, is that I will go to the ends of this earth and the next to keep you safe. Believe that," Jack told her, his forehead in hers and her face cupped in his large, rough hands.

"You know I believe that," Kim whispered before closing the tiny distance between their lips.

They kissed chastely at first, but as the last few days' events caught up and they remembered they were alone, their hunger for each other was just to undeniable, to strong for them.

Kim's hands wandered the strong plains of Jack's back and rounded his shoulders as they kissed heatedly, almost desperately. Jack's hands were at the hem of Kim's gi top and she lifted her arms long enough for Jack to remove the garment and toss it to the ground. Her bra immediately followed with no complaint from Kim.

Kim's hands wound their way into Jack's thick mane when his lips fell to her sensitive nipple, his tongue swirling around it, making it more pronounced. He released her breast with a little *pop* and switched to the other while he made fast work of his own belt and pants.

Once Jack was free of all clothing but underwear, he pulled Kim flush against him so she could feel how worked up her little body got him.

"Oh god, Jack," Kim cursed as she moved a hand from his hair down his torso to grab his throbbing cock through the fabric of its confines. She dropped to her knees in front of him and licked his still covered bulge before pulling down his waistband.

Jack's dick sprung free and Kim had to pull her head away to not be tapped with it, she was so close to him. He closed his eyes and trusted Kim to do what she pleased. Jack wasn't left disappointed when he felt Kim spit on him and begin working him with one soft hand and then a second.

Kim smiled to herself as she heard Jack moan and saw his fingers anxiously twitching next to his strong thighs. "It's okay, Jack, you can grab my hair," she smirked as she watched Jack's hands cautiously move towards her blonde locks. "There you go," she smiled triumphantly as his hands tangled in her beautiful strands.

Once Jack was comfortable, Kim tested the water by flicking Jack's tip with her tongue. She then kissed him, her eyes trained on his the entire time. Kim went for a longer lick from hilt to head, then did it again two more times before wrapping her lips around Jack's swollen head. She sucked ever so lightly before smiling at his delicious grunt of pure bliss. She hadn't even begun, she mused.

Jack lost the battle and shut his eyes when Kim began to make his length disappear in her hot little mouth. He thought he was going to have a heart attack when he heard the quietest little gag and felt the back of her throat, her soft tongue firmly on the underside of his rock hard shaft.

Kim slowly pulled back and went back over him, deep throating him again and again until Jack pulled her off of him and stood her up.

"I have to have you," Jack's voice was pure need and sinfully deep at this point. Kim only nodded as she shucked her pants and panties in one move. Jack picked her up under the arms and she squeaked as she wrapped her legs around his smaller back, feet digging into chiseled ass.

Jack slowly waded into the water and turned course, a target certainly in mind. Kim wondered what he had in mind until she looked above her and saw a tree branch hanging above the river. She grabbed it with both hands and held on for dear life because she could feel Jack's bulbous tip at her hot, tight entrance.

Jack watched her angelic face as he aligned himself with her velvet opening and torturous millimeter by millimeter, entered her scorching core and closed his eyes and gasped when he had filled her.

"Oh fuck!" Kim exhaled as she felt her mound touch Jack's wet skin. He was deep in her, right to the hilt and she needed that connection so bad. The angle of the branch and Jack's strength allowed her to be completely off her feet, suspended. She would have felt helplessly out of control, but instead she felt like she was floating in a wild sense, like she wanted Jack to take her in this position. She could only cry out in ecstasy while Jack pounded away at her like he was. She was powerless at the moment to stop him, and for some reason that was just so... hot. She trusted him, loved him completely and definitely didn't want him to stop.

Kim's elevated height allowed Jack to plunge straight up and almost pull out with every thrust of his powerful hips. The sloshing and slapping of the almost too cool water added a sensation neither of them had ever felt before and being out here in the middle of nowhere with 7,000 other bodies so nearby drove Jack harder, made him want to claim Kim as his even more.

Hearing his skin slap against Kim's feeling Kim's tight pussy hanging onto him for dear life and watching her try not to scream out because of what she was doing to him was sensory overload. He needed a distraction, so instead of watching Kim, he decided to go back to her firm but small tits and devoured the perky mounds with his mouth. He loved the way she pushed her chest out to give him more.

Jack wanted to give her more too, so he held her with only one arm and ravaged her little clit with the other until she was gritting her teeth to keep quiet. Finally her dam busted and she came around him violently hard, squeezing his marble shaft. She dropped from the tree and threw her arms around him and bit down on his shoulder, otherwise everyone for miles would know just what they were doing.

It was all too much for Jack. Kim's still vice-like pussy worked him and contrasted brilliantly with the pain in his shoulder from her bite. He pulled out at the last second and finally released himself into the spring river and let the current wash away the evidence of their wild passion.

Kim mumbled some kind of joke Jack was sure to have found sassy and adorable, but it was muffled by his hot skin and came out slurred due to her utter exhaustion.

"Kim, I have no idea what you just said, but I'm sure I would have loved it," Jack admitted and kissed her sweaty hair.

"I said something about... you know what? Fuck it. Just dress me and get me to bed," Kim ordered and fell asleep right there, slumped against Jack's chest as he carried her out of the river.

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 **Bit of a longer chapter there. Some action, some reuniting and some steamy Kick. We like, or nah? The review game last chapter was a lot better. Let's keep that up.**


	13. Sweet Dreams and a Coming Nightmare

_I'm sitting on the floor at seven years old, playing with my wooden building blocks when there's a knock at the door. I was hoping it was my friend Claire, so I ran to the door and threw it open._

 _It wasn't Claire. It was two soldiers from the army._

 _"Hi there!" one smiled at me and I smiled back. When people smiled at me, it made me smile, too. "Is your mommy home?" he asked._

 _"I don't have a mommy," I said. I never met my mom. I didn't know why, but I got used to it. I was always resentful of all the other girls and boys around the city with mommy and daddy when I didn't have a mommy and daddy was gone alot. I was babysat more times than not. Tonight was just like that._

 _"Oh, well um..." the man shuffled and I still had no idea what was happening._

 _"Would... would you like to come in?" I offered, not knowing better but trying to be polite. The babysitter was asleep because I was paying quietly and it was late. I still thought it could have been Claire..._

 _"No thank you, sweety. We just need to tell you... your papa's not coming home, Ms. Crawford," the man told me and I was a still confused at the time._

 _"Oh, where is he?" I asked foolishly, not sure at that age what_ he's not coming home _meant._

 _The soldier stooped to my height and put his large hands on my tiny shoulders. "You can't see your dad anymore, sweetheart. I'm sorry," the soldier even sounded sincere._

 _"Why?" was all I could find to ask._

 _"He did a bad thing, so he was taken away. I'm sorry."_

 _"If I do something bad, do I get to go see him?" I asked. It made sense to a seven year old._

 _"No, darling. Someone will be here soon to make sure you're safe and taken care of," he said and stood up._

 _"But I want daddy to take care of me," I said and my little voice shook. My lip started trembling and I didn't care about pride then. I started to cry and the soldiers closed the door on me, left me there to cry._

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"Kim, Kim," Jack shook Kim gently and wiped the tear from her eye as she woke.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Kim asked, worried about his tone.

"You tell me. You were the one whimpering in your sleep," Jack pointed out and kissed her forehead.

"I'm fine," Kim said a little too grouchily for her liking and for Jack to believe her. "Is it morning yet?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Jack opened the tent flap and briefly peeked outside. "Yes it is. Sun's just coming up," Jack said, letting go of the subject. For now.

"Good. Let's get 'em up and out," Kim said as she got off her and Jack's cot and stretched. "We have ground to cover."

"What ground? Where are we going?" Jack chuckled at her, shaking his head at her take charge attitude that stuck around even after she'd dodged talking about her feelings.

"Uh... that village. Let's go occupy it," Kim shrugged as she quickly got dressed.

"And do what with it?" Jack questioned, double checking that she had a real reason.

"To piss off Kai, for starters. It's also a staging point. It's the closest thing to a capital we can have right now. They have to have communications. We can use that to link up with Milton and Brody," Kim snowballed as her mind gradually woke up.

"Yes, your majesty," Jack smiled as he pulled his green cotton shirt on. He had no undershirt, the natural v-neck of the long sleeve revealed a small patch sun kissed, toned chest.

"Get over here," Kim growled hungrily and pulled him close by the collar, molding their lips together. She pushed him away playfully once satisfied. "Let's keep this momentum rolling."

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The army was up and on the move with a brigade and two regiments, though only the brigade was fully armed. Kim took the 1st Brigade and Jack received the 2nd, though it was only barely equipped regiments. Jack hoped the town would be able to fix that problem. They would be armed like a peasant mob, but they would be armed.

The town was no more than two miles away when Jerry rode past them with a company of cavalry, surely to scout.

"If Jerry finds any Imperials, think he'll send for backup?" Lusa asked Jack and Kim. None of them were familiar with blood seeking Jerry. Jerry was still Jerry, but he was always talking about "the next fight." He was blood thirsty and seemed to laugh at the idea of death, though he was sweet as ever to Lusa and his attitude was still high energy.

"I would be surprised if he came back," Asta smiled from behind Jack, Kim and Lusa. "Just keep an eye out for smoke and an ear open for screams," she joked but nobody found it to be funny.

"I think he'd come back," Jack said thoughtfully. "He may be reckless with his own life, but he wouldn't throw away a hundred others."

"Jack's right," Kim concurred. "Let's catch up just to be safe. Jack, Lusa, Asta, on me. Rudy, the army's yours," Kim gave him a shitty salute and the four took off down the road at a gallop.

"You and me at the head of the rebel army! How about that, huh?" Ty beamed.

"Dude, we'll see them again in like, half an hour," Rudy chuckled at his high octane and often childish friend.

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The four rode into the town that seemed to be completely quiet. There wasn't a single soul around. There wasn't a sound to be heard.

"I don't like this," Kim said, stopping her horse and looking around.

"I don't either. No troops, no townspeople, no Jerry. We'll go back and get the army," Jack suggested.

As they turned around, bolts flew and the horses panicked. Asta was tossed from her horse and Jack was shot in the calf, causing him to grunt out in frustration and pain. Lusa had no idea what to do, so she kept her horse moving, hoping to be a harder target.

Kim removed the katana from her back and hoped one of the shooters would give away their position. Another bolt flew and stuck deep into Bad Ass's flank, causing him to whinny and fall onto the cobbled street.

"No no no no no!" Kim shouted as she tried to get up, but Bad Ass had her pinned. "Jack!" she cried, her eyes searching for her love.

Jack was engaged with three assassins, fighting the best he could while ignoring the pain in his calf. One of the assassins rode behind and cut the back legs of Jack's horse, the horse falling forward and Jack rolling off right at the feet of the other two assassins.

Lusa tried to ride out of the town but an assassin lassoed her like a rancher lassoes a horse. She was pulled to the ground, her breath leaving her.

Asta ran to Kim's side, ignoring the bolts whizzing around her as she sprinted. She slid to the downed horse's side and tried to help Kim get out from under the beast, but it was too heavy for them and Kim remained trapped.

"Asta!" Kim tried to warn her friend, but the blonde warrior took a shot to the back of the head.

A knocked out Jack and a leashed Lusa were dragged to a pinned down Kim, Asta's incapacitated body adding to the weight.

"I think Emperor Kai will be pleased to have new competitors to the Pits," the ring leader chuckled and knelt down next to Kim. "Oh, he'll love this," hs laughed again and head-butted Kim, making her see black.

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 _"Hey, stop it!" I heard a girl's voice call out. "I'm warning you!" I heard the same voice again._

 _It sounded like she was in trouble, and I wasn't going to just ignore it. I ran towards the voice and saw a young blonde girl being picked on by two older boys. They were tossing an apple back and forth over the poor girl's head. It was obviously hers._

 _"Hey assholes!" I shouted to get their attention. One turned and was immediately struck in the mouth by the girl. He turned back to her and backhanded her, sending her to the cold concrete floor with a yelp._

 _I sprinted ahead and jumped high, smashing my knee into the boy's face. He, too, fell and held his blood gushing nose. The second boy made to charge at me, but apple girl tripped him and put him in a sleeper hold until he went limp._

 _"Hey, are you okay?" I asked her as I offered a hand. She swatted it away and hopped up to stand to her full height, which wasn't much._

 _"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a smile that unexplainably locked him in place. We stared at each other, stupid smiles on our faces. "Uh... can I have my apple back? That's my whole lunch and I feel like attacking you for it wouldn't be great for my health."_

 _I laughed aloud at this girl and gave her the apple back. "I'm Jack, by the way," I offered my hand and smiled._

 _"I know. We all know who you are," the girl said and shook my hand. "You're the son of the Imperial Advisor."_

 _"Yes, I am," I admitted. "You didn't give me your name," I smiled a closed lipped smile. I just wanted to be friendly, I didn't want anything from her._

 _"I'm Kim," she smiled back and bit her soft lip shyly, pivoting on her foot, twisting ever so slightly._

 _"Can I buy you lunch that's a little more filling than a single apple?" I asked, my voice soft. I didn't want to sound pushy or arrogant. I had seen Kim for the first time and I already knew I wanted her wellbeing to be my responsibility. I wanted to care for her as much as she'd let me. I could tell she was strong and fiercely independent, though._

 _"I appreciate the offer, Jack, I really do, but this apple is enough," Kim shot me down and smiled before taking a big bite of her crisp sounding fruit. "Wanna bite?" she asked, her mouth full and her arm outstretched. Kim was the most adorable fourteen year old anyone could ever hope to meet, and I met her._

 _"No, I'm good. Are you_ sure _you won't eat with me?" I asked one final time._

 _"I didn't say I wouldn't eat with you, I Just won't let you get me food," Kim smiled again. "Go get your food. I'll hold down a table."_

 _Kim didn't tell me then that she was more or less an orphan and that her "guardians" that were actually forced to take her, had little and gave her less. If I had known then that the apples from the courtyard was all she had to eat while we were at Academy, I would not have taken no for an answer. She didn't tell me about her dad until we were sixteen and dating. She looked so happy despite it all. Maybe it was in spite of._

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Jack slowly came to from his dream, his reliving the past. The sun was lowering in the sky, pinks, purples and oranges across the sky, a beautiful glow blanketing the world.

Jack looked around him, taking in the wagon he was in with Kim, Asta, and Lusa. Kim was already awake, watching the pavement go by as they went. The plains region they were currently in didn't really make the best view.

Jack leaned over and rested his sore head on her shoulder. He heard a jingling sound and felt a hand running through his hair and then stopped. "Please don't stop," Jack requested silently, but his tone held more of a begging edge to it.

"Jack, you're awake!" Kim whispered, kissing his hair, actively missing the dried blood in his hair from where they bashed him.

"You were so cute when we first met," Jack whispered, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. "So fierce, so independent and stubborn. Still so soft and sweet, funny and heart teasingly incorrigible," Jack sighed in Kim's scent and kissed her neck. "You haven't changed, except you're a not a kid anymore. You're stronger, gorgeous and in control of me like I never thought anyone could be."

"Jack, where are these words coming from?" Kim asked against the crown of his head and wiped away one tear caused by Jack's out of nowhere poetry.

"My heart. And probably also the blood loss," Jack shrugged.

"Blood loss?" Kim asked, snapping to attention. Her eyes roamed his slumped figure until she saw the dart protruding from muscle, flesh and clothe. "Oh my god, Jack!"

"I'm fine, I just need a hand," he slurred. "Is it deep?" Jack asked, unable to feel it, the area having gone numb.

"Uhm..." Kim stalled. "It went all the way through."

"Well that makes things easier," Jack humorlessly chuckled.

"What? Are you crazy?" Kim challenged through gritted teeth and stared him down with wild eyes. "It went straight through the bone, Jack!" That one got the others' attention.

"Jack, are you hurt?" Asta asked leaning in from next to Lusa, who was across from Jack. Lusa was still out, and ligature marks were visible on her neck from the assassin's rope.

"I'm fine. Kim just needs to push the crossbow bolt through my leg, plug the hole and use the bolt as a tourniquet."

"Solid plan," Asta concurred.

"Are you kidding me, Jack? That sounds terrible? You want me to push it the rest of the way through your leg and _use it_ to patch you up?" Kim couldn't believe how barbaric it sounded.

"That is _exactly_ what I'm saying, woman!" Jack confirmed. Jack waited for a response, but Kim just stared at the wound, unmoving, not speaking.

Asta dropped to her knees from the bench and scooted over to Jack, ignoring his blood that was now on the knees of her pants. "Are you ready?" she asked as her hands hovered over his leg, one hand just about to touch the bolt.

"Yeah, do it," Jack leaned away from Kim and bit the collar of his shirt.

Asta held his leg steady and quickly pushed the bolt through his leg and it fell to the floor of the wagon on the other side of the wound.

Jack's eyes bugged and his leg burned. He valiantly fought not to cry out and continued the fight as Asta plugged the wound with a strip of her shirt sleeve. Next was the tourniquet, and once in place, Jack was out again.

"Kim, are you okay?" Asta asked the younger blonde as she went back to her seat, wiping Jack's blood on her pant legs.

"I froze, Asta. Jack asked me to help him and I froze. My mind heard what he wanted from me and it just shut down," Kim said sadly, her eyes going from her relatively clean ones to Asta's bloody hands.

"The one you love is in a state worse than you've ever seen him, Kim. Your mind isn't going to take that lightly. It will try to stop you from seeing it, try to keep you happy and safe," Asta said sweetly, trying to make Kim understand it wasn't her fault. She reached out for Kim's hands that were cuffed, but Kim pulled them away. She couldn't bare to touch Asta's hands that were covered in Jack's blood because Kim didn't, couldn't help him.

"He leaned away from me when you were helping him. He thinks I didn't want to help him," Kim whispered and a tear escaped her eye, rolling down her soft left cheek. Jack was out cold, unable to wipe it away. She had to do it herself, and it made her wonder how much worse Jack felt when Kim panicked and didn't help him, how hurt and even abandoned Jack must have felt.

"He knew you were shutting down, Kim. He wasn't going to put more pressure on you by leaning on you while I put him through hell to help him. He understands," Asta tried to assure him. "Jack is a seasoned warrior, Kim. He's seen and been through much. He won't hold this against you."

"Where are we going?" Kim changed the subject.

"I think I have an idea," Asta said cryptically.

"One of them said something about the Pits?" Kim asked, trying to scratch her head but her handcuffs made it difficult.

"I figured as much," Asta said with a scowl.

"What are the Pits?" Kim asked. She had heard mentions of them, but was never told too much, and Imperial secret.

"The Pits are fighting rings in Seaford. The aristocracy bets on prisoners that fight to the death," Asta explained.

"But I was never in the Pits. I never knew a prisoner from the Pits," Kim didn't know such a place existed.

"The Pits are for murders, rapists, people guilty of committing treason, and foreign prisoners of war. That's how I know about it," Asta said.

"How did you get out? It seems like a place they don't just let you out of."

"I won ten fights in a row so I got out," Asta shrugged. "They know who you and Jack are, Kim. I don't think we'll ever leave the Pits if they get us there."

"And we're not exactly in shape to escape," Kim sighed in defeat.

"No, we're not," Asta said sadly, looking at Jack and Lusa. "They're going to eat Jack alive with that leg of his."

"No," Kim shook her head adamantly. "We'll find our way out of this. We'll break free before we hit Seaford, or I'll find a way to protect Jack myself."

"How are you going to do that?" Asta questioned. She wasn't challenging the young empress, she was purely curious and hoping to help.

"I don't know yet. I'll stand in for his fights. Draw attention away from Jack and bring it to myself," Kim rambled off, trying to think of something.

"That's admirable and not a bad idea, but Kim, you have no idea what kind of hell this place is," Asta warned.

"I don't care. None of us are going to die, not like that. I won't let us," Kim's voice fell to a whisper as she wrapped her arms around an unconscious Jack and pulled him to rest on her, his head in the crook of her neck. "Nobody's going to die," Kim swore to herself.

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 **You're reviews have been awesome! Please keep them coming!**


	14. The Pits Pt !

**Special guest starring Isla Fisher as redheaded prisoner**

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The wagon rolled to a stop at the gates of Seaford, but the gates didn't move. They were closed for the night and the assassins turned slavers weren't going that way, anyway.

"Alright, get the hell out. Ride's over!" one of the men yelled to them.

"Come on, Kim, we need to help Jack up," Asta told the younger woman. "He needs us."

"You can stop talking to me like I'm not even here," Jack mumbled as he slowly pulled himself up, using the back of the wagon. "I'm fine," he insisted as he dragged his bad leg over the seat where Kim had just been.

The three women were already out and watched Jack warily as he looked at the ground, trying to decide the best and most painless way down.

"Move it along!" one of the drivers shouted from horseback, reaching over the wagon side and shoving Jack off, into three sets of waiting arms.

Kim, Asta and Lusa nearly fell backwards as they caught Jack from his unceremonious fall. "We got you," Kim whispered into his ear as they stood him up.

"Thanks for catching me," Jack whispered back as he tried to steady himself.

"Always," Kim managed to slip out before a slaver cracked his whip and they knew it was either move or feel the lash.

The slavers herded the four along the wall of Seaford and around to the side. Jack, Kim and Lusa had no idea why they were coming this way, but Asta knew very well.

Asta led the way now, bringing them to a much smaller gate in the wall. She opened the gate herself and the three prisoners behind her gasped when they saw they stood in front of a tunnel, a great staircase illuminated by torchlight burrowing beneath the city.

"Welcome to hell," a slaver laughed and nudged them forward. Again, Asta led the way and Kim along with Lusa supported Jack as he hopped one step at a time. Each movement jostled his leg wound and made it so damn painful, Jack gritting his teeth all the way to the bottom.

Finally, after the staircase, they faced a long counter that ran the width of the passage with the exception of the door to get to the other side. A man stood behind it and waved them all forward.

"What ya got this time?" the man behind the counter asked, not seeming that interested.

The head slaver approached and handed him an empty leather pouch. "Kim Crawford, Jack Brewer, and two of their rebel friends," he said, his voice dripping pride and arrogance.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" the way keeper asked in disbelief.

"No sir. You're going to fill that pouch up to the strings or Kai is going to get dead bodies instead of live shows," the slaver threatened and immediately got what he wanted.

"Kai will be informed of the new... combatants, as soon as possible," the money man vowed and unlocked the door for the small train of people to pass.

As they continued down the tunnel, more torchlight reached their eyes and it was nearly as bright as day. They passed under one more doorway, and found themselves staring into the middle of the Pits.

Multiple large arenas of sand dotted the deep, seemingly endless cavern. All around them in a full circle were cages and cells for the fighters, every fight in easy view so they could watch, learn, and ultimately see what would lead to their end or freedom.

There was housing for an army literally right under the Empire's capital. The most dangerous, sick and twisted men and women in the Empire were locked away like animals and forced to fight until they perished or caused ten others to perish.

The four turned around as they heard the door click and lock behind them.

"Solid fucking steel," Kim growled as she knocked on it. "It would take pounds of explosives to knock this baby down," she said with a frown.

"You three need to stick close to me," Asta said as she beckoned them forward. "We need to find cells."

"Why would we want to find cells?" Lusa asked. "Why would we want to cage ourselves?"

"Because you don't want to be out in the open," Asta answered coldly and it sent a shiver through the young brunette's spine. "You were still out when I mentioned that we're locked in here with rapists, murderers and foreign prisoners of war, weren't you?"

Lusa's face paled and it was all the answer Asta needed. "Kim, how are you not freaking out about this?" Lusa wanted to scream, but felt like that would be a terrible idea. There was already a group of not so friendly men looking at the little group.

"Oh, I'm absolutely terrified. I just know that showing it is a terrible idea," Kin said as crossed her arms and sup nodded the men that were inching closer. They actually stopped, Kim's usually warm and gleaming brown eyes had turned murky and hard.

Kim nearly jumped when Jack's head rested on her shoulder. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or just exhausted. Seeing Jack in this place, in this state, made her worry for her love all the more. He and Asta are the two people she would with her here for safety's sake, and one of them was a shadow at the moment.

"Jack? Jack, are you okay?" Kim asked into his ear as she and Lusa tried to move him quickly to follow Asta who was B-lining towards a cell.

Jack didn't respond. No touch, no grumble, only long, shallow breaths.

"Jack is not okay. We need to do something," Kim urged the other women as they finally found a cell, door open.

"Sorry, but this ours now," Asta told the resident redhead as sweetly as possible.

"You kidding me, bitch?" The red spitfire shot back.

"Make this easy on yourself. Get out before we throw you out and toss you to some of the more unsavory men and women here," Asta warned, her pretty features hardening like granite and her steel blue eyes begging to be challenged. She took another step in and the redhead shot up.

"Step off, bitch. You're new and I've won three matches," she smirked, rolling her neck and feeling strong.

Asta smiled a knee melting smile at her and kept walking in slowly, the smile turning more maniacal by the second until they were forehead to forehead. Asta pulled back with lightning speed and hit the shorter girl in the nose with a ferocious head-butt, knocking her to the concrete floor.

She tried to stand, but Asta stopped her with a hard knee to the sternum and multiple elbow strikes to the back until the smaller woman was prostrate on the ground, blood leaking from her broken nose.

Asta grabbed her by the shirt collar and literary dragged her from the cell and left her in the sand outside to the metaphorical wolves. Whatever happens to her happens to her...

"That was cold, Asta," Lusa said as she and Kim laid Jack down on the bed. "That was dead cold. What's going to happen to her?"

Asta sighed and closed the cell door, locking it from the inside. Every guard had a master key to unlock the cells and cages when it was time to fight. "We need the bed for Jack. I asked her nicely once to leave and she didn't."

"Did you have to destroy her, though?" Lusa kept pressing.

"People were watching. The people that saw that are people that won't fuck with us," Asta explained. "I'm sorry, Lusa, but this isn't a playground."

"Asta's right, Luse. You saw the guys that were staring at us when we came in. What do you think they'd do to girls like us if they had the chance?" Kim asked, understanding where Asta was coming from. "They would tear poor Jack apart and do whatever they wanted to with us, and it wouldn't be nice in the least," Kim shuddered.

"Until Jack is okay, you're our best bet, aren't you?" Lusa asked Asta almost sadly. Lusa didn't hate Asta, but the intensity of the tall blonde gave her pause and made her a little nervous.

"Does that bother you?" Asta asked with a frown, a flash of hurt striking across her eyes and then vanishing.

Lusa was about to answer, but was cut off by frantic pounding on the door. "Hey, I'm sorry! Come on, let me in!"

"It's the redhead," Kim said, looking at the two women.

"Please!" she pleaded and Kim's eyes grew wide.

"We have to let her in. It's probably those vultures that were trying to hunt us!" Kim yelled at them, trying to get through Lusa's fear and get into Asta's heart. "Fuck you two, I'm letting her in."

Kim pushed Lusa aside and hurriedly undid the lock as the girl's screams got louder and more desperate. She got the door open and saw that five men were already on her, trying to drag her to some hellish corner of the Pits to make her wish she was dead.

Kim launched herself forward into the men, not fearing about winding up in the same situation, but focused on saving the young woman. She had shoulder tackled one man down and strattled his chest to repeatedly pound his face.

Another man grabbed her shoulder but pulled away his hand with a yelp after Kim had bitten him. She jumped up and kicked him between the legs. The redhead was also standing now, though on shaky legs.

Kim screamed when she felt powerful arms snake behind hers and pull her form into his chest. "My my, look at you," he growled into her ear and smelled her hair. "What's a pretty thing like you doing in here?"

Kim groaned and tried not to roll her eyes at the piece of filth that was pressed so close to her. Her back faced the cell, so she had no idea if she would have to find her own way out of this or if Asta was actually going to help her.

Kim had her answer when the three others still capable of standing came closer, malice and putrid intentions lighting up their eyes. The redhead tried to assail one, but she was easily knocked to the ground. Kim feared her fate would be that of the girl she had come out to save, but the one on the end looked like he was about to turn and run.

Asta literally jumped over Kim's shoulder and speared a man to the ground. She got up immediately and side kicked the second man in the throat, sending him to the ground. The last man tried to punch her, but Asta threw up a right block and punched him in the groin three times. He fell to his knees and Asta kicked him under the chin, and she heard his neck snap from the force of it.

The only man left was the one holding Kim. He quickly shifted to hold her arms with one of his and produced a share of razor sharp glass. He pressed it to her throat and dared Asta or Kim to make a move.

"I'm okay with making off with just you," he purred in Kim's ear as he slowly walked them back towards the cell. He locked the door in front of them and turned her around to face her.

Kim's eyes went wide just before a pair of boa constrictor-like arms wrapped around the man's throat and dragged him to the ground.

Jack wrapped his good leg around the man's midsection and applied a lethal amount of pressure on the airway as Jack quickly removed the life from him with his deadly choke hold. After the struggling stopped, Jack checked his pulse to find it no longer there. He released the dead form and with great effort rose to his good leg where he staggered for a moment and fell back to the hard floor before Kim could wrap her mind around the situation.

Lusa came out of her hiding spot and opened the door to see Asta choking a man out with her leather boot. Lusa stood horrified as she watched the blonde Amazon take the life from a now helpless but once predatory man.

Asta reentered the room and saw Kim siting on the floor, Jack's sweat sleeked head in her lap. "What happened after the door closed?"

"That guy had his back turned to Jack. Never saw Jack, didn't see him when he got up, didn't hear him when he snuck up behind him. Jack put him in a choke hold and killed him. He collapsed right after," Kim filled in the pieces, stroking a stray hair from Jack's forehead and kissed where it had been.

"Kim, can... can we talk?" Lusa asked timidly from by the door. The redhead next to her remained quiet.

"Lusa, there's nothing to talk about. Things happened and you choked up. It opens. It's just good to know that when something happens down here, I can't trust you to help," Kim said sadly. She loved Lusa. Lusa was her best friend in the world, her girl. It hurt Kim just to say such a thing, but Lusa had just proven that to be true.

"Kim, I'm..." Lusa tried again.

"It's okay, Luse," Jack croaked. "Not everyone is meant to strive below. We all just need to survive."

"Jack is right," Asta said, crossing her arms. "Lusa, you did act like a coward, but you haven't had your back to the wall like we have. You'll get to a point here where you will do what needs to be done. You're just not there yet," Asta smiled warmly.

"Uh, thanks," Lusa forced a smile back. It seemed weird to to the dark haired girl that Asta could genuinely smile about such a bleak statement. It made her wonder just how much she had been against the wall.

"Jack, how are you feeling?" Kim whispered into his hair, stroking his head ever so lightly.

"Like I could run a marathon," he joked and earned a playful punch to the gut from Kim. "In all honesty, I feel like hell. My leg hurts, I've had a fever since the first day in the wagon and I've been in and out of consciousness since."

Kim dried his forehead with her shirt sleeve and pressed the back of her hand to his skin. "Your fever is coming down," she said with a genuinely happy smile. "We can't do anything about the pain, though," Kim told him, her voice breaking because she could see the raw pain in his expressive eyes that looked like amber from the light of the single torch in the cell.

"It's okay. I've had worse," Jack waved it off, and Kim could tell Jack actually meant that. She had no idea what the worst was, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Kim, stay here with Jack. Me and Lusa are going to find a safe place for little Red, here," Asta said, smiling down at the shorter woman.

"Are you really going to help me?" she asked, her amount of skepticism clear in her voice.

"I saw you attempt to help us against the wolves. Kim was also insistent on helping you, so we will." Asta turned her attention back to Kim. "If we're not back in half an hour, _do not_ come looking for us," Asta ordered, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Stay safe, Luse," Kim excused herself long enough to hug her best friend. Kim was even more shocked when Asta looked expectant of a hug, her arms at her sides, palms up and elbows slightly bent. The two leaders smiled and dig hug tightly. "I'll see you soon, Asta. Take care of yourself and keep an eye on Lusa."

"Two eyes," Asta smiled and the three girls left, closing the door behind them, leaving Jack and Kim alone in silence.

"C'mon, let's get you back into that bed," Kim told him as she put his arm over her shoulders. They heaved together and got him up, able to reach the bed with combined efforts.

"Thanks," Jack mumbled, out of breath from the simple act. "This is the most _physically_ painful thing I've ever felt. The most painful thing in all, the thing that made me lose the most sleep,almost changed who I was, was missing you," Jack finished in a whisper, almost afraid to admit it.

Kim laid down next to Jack, the young couple facing each other. Kim didn't speak, only locking their hands together and looking at his fingers. There was something about the way Jack was looking at her that made her feel shy, maybe playfully so.

Kim sighed, not really sure how to continue the track Jack had just opened up. "What... what do you mean by it almost changed you?"

"I got angry, Kim. Without you I started hating everything, I became so irritable and snapped at everyone. Every sparring session I entered, I tried to rip the head off the other Dragon hoping it would make me feel better, as if somehow it could have made me miss you less.

"After a while I stopped moping. My anger spikes continued and I became more vicious, thus catching the eye of the Emperor. While he polished me to be the captain, I became obsessed with freeing you, getting you back at any cost. I began reading the history of the Empire, reading your file and your family history cover to cover. I got Milton to help me. It was Milton who gave me the idea of a revolution with you as the mascot. It was my idea to really put you on the throne, to begin the revolution _with_ you."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me this, Jack?" Kim asked, finally looking at him.

"Because... because I didn't want you to think I had weakened. I didn't want you to think I was some crazy guy that was _obsessed_ with you. But I am, Kim. I am absolutely entranced by you. I am every bit in love with you. There isn't a part of me I wouldn't give to see you safe, to see you happy. I would give you my whole world if it was more than a clod of dirt to you," Jack poured out, his eyes closed. "That guy was trying to hurt you, but there was no way in hell was that going to happen while I live."

"Jack, I love you, too. _So much_. But look at you. You need to let me be strong now. You need to let me take care of you until your leg heals."

"Kim, this place is..."

"I know it's hell, Jack. But if you do something stupid and get yourself killed, imagine the hell it will be for me then. Imagine what hell the rest of my life will be because I won't have a way of getting you back," Kim begged Jack to see it her way. "I'm strong, and when it comes to seeing you safe at the end of the night with you, I'm as fearless as you are when it's me on the line. Let me save you for once," she pleaded, a tear rolling down her porcelain skinned cheek.

Jack wiped away her tear, wrapped his arms around her, and before he could move, Kim wrapped a strong leg around his smaller back and rolled them so Jack's head in the crook of her neck and there was no pressure on his leg.

"Will you let me save you for once?" she actually asked and kissed his cheek.

"Fine, I guess," Jack pretended to reluctantly give in and turned his head to capture her full, soft lips. As they kissed and tried to forget where they were, Jack knew he really did reluctantly give in. He didn't like this at all, and if something did happen to Kim, be swore to everything that he would burn the entire Empire to the ground, him in it.

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 **Just a bit of Kick and an intro to the Pits. Shit starts getting real next chapter. Please keep hitting me with those sweet reviews.**


	15. Here to Stay

**Just a quick little casting bit. It took me a while to find a crazy enough MoFo to be Jack's challenge, and I settled upon Nathan Jones, who will be worth a Google for his scene. Kim's first fight is against an unnamed opponent I casted as WWE's Dana Brooke.**

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Asta and Lusa returned just short of their deadline, much to the relief of Jack and would have been to Kim bad she not fallen asleep, Jack's head on her chest.

"Hey, you're back," Jack said with a smile, his head still on Kim's breasts. "Did you find a spot for the girl?"

"Yeah," Lusa answered, smiling at the couple on the sorry excuse for a bed. They looked comfy enough, though.

"She's with a party of Wakaidans not far from here. She'll be safe with them," Asta nodded, taking a seat on the floor and smiling as well at the couple.

"How are you, Jack?" Lusa asked, ruffling his long hair, smiling because he was too worried about waking Kim up to do anything about it.

"Leg hurts like a bitch, but I'm not worried about passing out at random anymore. I think now I just wait for it to heal up," Jack shrugged. He hated how little power he had. "Stupid fucking cheap shot..." he mumbled.

"You'll be fine," Asta waved him off. "Me and Kim will protect you," she said earnestly, in no way jabbing. She respected him too much to poke at him in such a way. Even now, Jack Brewer was still lethal. He had proven that much.

"Me and Kim talked about that," Jack let out. "I don't like it, and Kim literally fighting my battles doesn't make me happy at all, but she won't have it any other way."

Lusa was oddly quiet, chewing her nails in the corner, her brown eyes boring holes in the floor.

"What's wrong?" Asta asked the darker skinned girl with genuine worry.

"I hate to say this, but I feel really weak right now. I'm not a fighter like you three. You won't survive in the arena," Lusa's voice was quiet, not wanting to have admitted that, but why hold back? What was the point? She figured she'd be dead in a matter of days. Why care what they'd think now?

"Lusa, no one is going to die. Kim and I trained you ourselves. Your biggest problem in here is that you're too much of a sweetheart," Jack chuckled. "As long as you're willing to survive, do what it takes, you _will_ survive," Jack promised. "Just be strong, and when it comes down to it... be as merciless as the son of a bitch you're fighting."

"That's the thing, Jack. I'm not a warrior! I can't be!" Lusa tried to tell him, and her accidental, impassioned raise in voice woke up Kim with a start.

"Lusa, listen to me. This place will change you. Understand that. If you don't change for this place, you _will_ die here. You have no idea what I have seen people go through, what I've seen people do to one another because the only rule here is to not fucking die. I won't tell you what I've seen combatants do to each other before the final blow. You'll see for yourself and that will steel you for this," Asta said with gritted teeth. "You need to be a fighter and not a lover now."

"Asta's right, Luse. You're an adult, so you can hear this. Rape. That's what would have happened to the redheaded woman. That's what that dead jackass would have tried to do to me. Jack killed him. Do you think any less of Jack now?" Kim pointed out, fully coherent.

"Jack, there's one thing you need to know," Asta switched the subject to give Lusa's lesson time to digest. "You have to win your first fight before you can be championed."

"What?!" Kim shouted in outrage. "Jack can barely fucking stand! How is he supposed to fight?"

"Kim, I can survive one fight," Jack tried to calm her. "I snuck up and snuffed out that guy, right?" Jack rhetorically asked. I can play opossum again," Jack shrugged. "I'll bait him and scratch him off. Easy as cake."

"I don't like it, but I know you're the best. Just... put up with the fact that I worry to death because I love your stubborn ass," Kim said, knowing she had no choice in the matter. "Can we all just go to sleep so we can start killing dudes tomorrow?"

"Alright, we'll kill some dudes," Lusa said, her way of letting them know she was in for the fight.

"This bedding is folded over," Jack noticed aloud. We can remove it from the frame and lay it down. It's going to be a little cozy, but we can all have something to sleep on."

"That's really nice, Jack," Kim smiled at her thoughtful lover as she helped him to his foot. He hobbled and hopped to a corner as the girls laid out the spreading.

"I wish we had a blanket," Lusa said forlornly. "I don't expect all the comforts of 327, but something would be nice," Lusa said as she tried to hold back a shiver. The Pits weren't exactly the warmest place to be.

Jack and Kim were rolled up into onto each other, a tangled form of arms and legs, Kim sighing into Jack's body heat.

Lusa wasn't expecting to feel Asta pulling her close and wrapping her arms and legs around her. Lusa lay there, seemingly frozen, not sure how to react. She had never been in quarters this close to another woman, let alone a mysterious one like Asta.

"It's not fair if you leave me cold," Asta whispered, politely asking Lusa to return the favor of sharing warmth. Nobody likes a one-sided huddle. Lusa turned in the gorgeous blonde Amazon's arms and wrapped herself in her friend's soft body. It felt weird at first, but it was better than being cold and shivering.

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 _Jack Brewer and Kimberly Crawford to Arena 10._ The loudspeaker sounded, waking up the four rebels.

"We need to hurry," Asta urged, rousing the three who were more reluctant.

 _Jack Brewer and Kimberly Crawford to Arena 10._ The loudspeaker announced again.

"If you're not there by the third call, they will forcefully bring you and it _will not_ be pleasant," Asta warned. They jumped into action the best they could with Jack as he was.

They made their way passed onlookers and past arenas with minor fights already in progress. The competitors were trash tier compared to the games held in Arena 10, where the big bets were placed and the aristocratic underbelly had their balcony seating.

They made it to the gate that sealed Arena 10 and the four waited for it to open before entering.

The first face they saw was Kai in a Captain's gi on the Emperor's throne. Jack stood as straight as he could, his fists clenched in rage just at the sight of his "cousin."

Kim had to try just as hard not to launch herself at the wall. She would love nothing more than to scramble up the wall and break Kai's neck, to just end it all.

"Cousin Jack," Kai said with a wicked smirk. "Rebellion not working out so well, huh? I got you and your little empress propaganda bitch."

Jack caught Kim's arm and pulled her into his chest to keep her from doing something stupid. She had missed the crossbow trained Dragons that surrounded them from above, but Jack hadn't missed them.

"Hello Kai, usurper to the usurped," Jack smiled back, not taking any of his shit. "Oh, did you tell anyone that we captured Ty and you didn't do anything to get him back?" Jack teased.

"I sent a regiment," Kai weakly parried.

"That we slaughtered and rolled into our numbers," Kim laughed, causing him to scowl. "You expected a rabble instead of a trained force, right?"

"I didn't expect Jack to betray the thrown!" Kai snapped, raising to his feet. "You betrayed everything for a pretty face."

"I'm restoring what was and what should be!" Jack fired back but faltered in his anger when he put too much weight on his wounded leg.

"Oh, what's wrong, Jack?" Leg not feeling too good? My bounty hunters did say they got the best of you guys. My Imperial scouts must have done a good job leading off your cavalry."

"Enough banter, asshole. Send out some fighters!" Lusa challenged, trying to be more brave then she felt.

"Jack, you'll be first, like always," Kai sneered. The gate behind him opened and the girls knew they had to leave his side, if only for a moment.

"Alright, let's do this," Jack said as he rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. He tried to feel strong, tried to dig deep, but he wasn't feeling it. He felt weak, unstable... unsure.

Jack turned to look back through the gate to see Kim holding onto the bars, her eyes locked on him and worry illuminating her soft brown eyes. He limped to the gate and held her hands through the rod iron.

"You'll be fine, Jack. You got this," Kim whispered, but her eyes and trembling voice gave way to her nearly petrified mind and heart. She was about to watch her only love fight a death match with one good leg and an exhaustion they hadn't had real time to push off.

"Don't worry," Jack whispered back, cupping Kim's sweet face, gently rubbing circles on her flawless skin with the pads of his thumbs. "I'll be just fine because I love you. If something happens to me, you'll need to find someone else to love you and for you to fall in love with. I can't even bare that thought," Jack told her, pressing his forehead to hers as much as the cold metal would allow.

Kim opened her eyes and nodded at the man in front of her. "I don't want to think about it either, so lets not think about it," Kim urged and furthered her stance by pulling his body to the bars by his shirt. Their faces were pressed right to the iron, and their lips were just able to touch.

Little pecks weren't enough for the young fiery couple. They were both scared. This place, these fighting pits weren't meant to let people leave. This was a hell where monsters fought each other to the death for the joy and merriment of devious demons in fine clothing. Jack couldn't show his fear to Kim, he wouldn't admit it aloud. Instead Jack poured his soul into the way his tongue left his mouth to trace Kim's plump lips until her own warm tongue came out to collide with Jack's, getting all the contact they could. They blocked out the hoots and hollers from the watching crowd that witnessed the young lovers' passion. It had nothing to do with them.

Finally Jack brought his heart under control and kissed Kim once more before turning to face the gate opposite him, where his opponent would enter from.

Jack waited patiently and tested his leg, seeing if he could trust any weight on it at all. He was still limited to hobbling and any kind of running was out of the question.

He heard shouts and cheers as he saw a shadow on the wall behind the gate. The shadow gave Jack no honest guess as to the size and build of his opponent.

Jack removed his shirt and threw it behind him. He took a defensive stance and felt the fight or flight adrenaline rush through his veins. His muscles swelled like he had just warmed up for a workout, his chiseled chest rising and falling with every breath, veins and vessels in his arms visible, abs tighter than hell and shoulders set like rocks. Jack would be intimidating to any man as long as he could hide his disability.

He would have looked intimidating to anyone... except the goliath of a Wakaidan that now stared down Jack as he waited for his gate to open.

Jack maintained his war face and refused to gulp down the massive lump in his throat. The gate opened and the towering bald man stomped into the arena, cold and hard eyes focused on little Jack. The nine slashes running up his right arm were how many wins he had, Jack assumed. Of course Kai would feed him to an abominable tenth rounder.

Jack knew the fight was on when the gate closed behind the mountainous man. The human wall would be slow and lumbering, overconfident. As long as Jack didn't let him in arm's reach, he would be fine.

The beast charged at Jack, and Jack stood his ground, waiting for the perfect second. With less than a moment between them, Jack dove to the side and let the massive animal of a man run full body into the wall. The little square windows letting in little hints of daylight shook and threatened to give under the force of the charge.

Jack rolled onto his back to see that his opponent was already back on his feet and hulking towards him.

"What the fuck!" Jack groaned as he hopped back up to his feet. He hoped for another charge, but the sentient muscle mass before him also had a brain, and stalked closer to Jack, step by massive step. He wasn't going to get his charge and Jack knew it.

Finally they were chest to belly, the 6'11" creature staring down into the eyes of Jack, who had been trained to show no fear from a young age. Deflecting mind games was a mind game in inself.

Jack took the stand off initiative. He knew a lock up would be a fatal mistake, so Jack had no problem delivering a right uppercut to the man's genitals.

The freak stood with clenched jaw and red face, withstanding Jack's attack.

"Ah hell," Jack mumbled before the warrior grabbed Jack by the traps and with seemingly no effort at all, raised him off the ground and threw him to the ground to roll a few feet away through the sand.

Jack quickly scrambled to his feet, knowing laying down would get him nothing. Jack couldn't go on the offensive, and this thing knew Jack was willing to play dirty.

He waited again for Freak to approach, and Freak came out with a wild haymaker, expecting Jack to be more worse for wear than he was. Jack ducked the blow and popped up before jumping off his right leg to grab the man's shoulders and hoist himself up. Once up, Jack did a midair roundhouse to Freak's knee, which did bring him down.

With Freak down and Jack still on his shoulders, Jack had little problem applying yet another trusty sleeper hold.

"No! Not like this!" Kai shouted, standing from his seat and throwing an object into the arena. It was a knife.

Freak reached for it, and Jack applied more pressure and tried to pull the big man backwards, but wasn't big enough to. Freak pressed on and got a hold of the knife.

Freak fought to his feet and lifted his left arm. He plunged the knife but Jack was quick enough to dodge the razor sharp black steel. Freak tried to stab again but Jack again dodged.

Jack swung himself around on the foot taller heavily muscled frame so they were face to face. Jack waited and felt the muscles pressed against his own. He felt the rib muscles that ran to Freak's arm as they pulled back and then as they got closer. With his legs wrapped around Freak's waist, Jack threw his upper body back so he was dangling from Freak by the legs. It was excruciating pressure on his wound, but it paid off when Jack heard the sound of cold blade push through hot flesh.

Blood ran down and trickled over Jack's straining abs and onto his black jeans. It was time for Jack to let go. He fell to the sand and rolled out of the way before Freak's bleeding, suffocating form could crush him. Freak fell right on the self inflicted knife wound, the weapon going deeper into the deflated lung that filled with blood. Freak was drowning from the inside, helpless. In moments he would be no more. Jack rolled him over and plucked the knife from the soo to be cadaver.

Jack stood to his feet and raised one arm in defiance at Kai, a more than pleased smirk on his face. Jack had survived his first fight and taught Kai that there was much more fight left in him.

The gate behind him opened and the girls rushed him, squeezing him nearly half to death in a celebratory group hug. They ignored the bit of blood and the sweat that coated Jack's still tense body.

"Holy shit. I've never been more afraid in my life. There were so many moments I was terrified to even watch. There were so many times I thought that thing was going to get ahead," Kim's words came out in a rush as she hung to Jack's neck for dear life.

Jack hugged her back with all he could without breaking her, placing kisses on her neck and shoulders where he could reach her fine skin. His hands drifted down her back and he slid the handle of the knife into the waistline of her black leggings.

"Crawford! You're next!" Kai shouted as he reclaimed his seat, still furious from the upset.

Another gate opened and a woman taller than Kim emerged, but this chick was weird strong. She could crush Kim's head between her shoulder and bicep.

Kim cracked her neck like Jack had and smiled at the blonde woman opposite her as Jack, Lusa and Asta exited to watch the fight.

Lusa was worried as hell about her best friend, Asta knew Kim was a Dragon for a reason and Jack had slipped her a knife.

The fight began when all gates were down. Kim did some show off foot to foot hopping like a boxer and hoped weight lifting Blondie would make a move.

"Oh fuck it," Kim growled as she gave up on waiting. She stomped forward and drew the knife when she was but three paces away, too close for steroids woman to react and too close for Kai to see it. The part of the onlookers that could see it went absolutely crazy for the dirty move.

Kim stuck the knife right up under the sternum and took a step back. She hit a jump front kick right on the button, the flat of her foot sending the knife even further up and deep into the heart.

"Prison rules, bitch," Kim flicked her head up at Kai and exited, leaving the sandy haired warmonger speechless as she left, friends at her side and Jack's arm around her.

One fight a day meant they were one of ten done, but they knew there would not be a day eleven, even if they made it that long. Kai would see to it that they never breathed free air again.

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Jack and Kim had the cell all to themselves since Lusa and Asta had muscled into the one next to them. Lusa hadn't calmed down since the 'this is real' talk the night before. She was quickly becoming Asta's right hand. Lusa was safe and the two were rubbing off on each other. Asta was even smiling and laughing occasionally, which was weird for the warlike Wakaidan.

Jack was sitting on the bed, ever so gingerly massaging the screaming flesh of his left calf as close as he could to the closing wound.

How are you feeling?" Kim asked quietly as she tore her eyes from Jack's still exposed torso. Her gaze shot down to his hands and her brown wells filled with worry and pain for her love.

"That fight took it out of me," Jack admitted, grimacing at the jolt of agony when he lost focus and got to close to the source.

"Here, let me," Kim offered as she took his discarded pants off the bed and put them on the floor so she could have something softer than cold concrete to kneel on.

Her delicate little hands began kneading the red flesh with pinpoint accuracy and the perfect amount of pressure.

Jack laid back and moaned as Kim's fingers worked his heated muscles into a pliable tissue she could more easily work with. It had become a massage instead of just a burn soother.

"We're in quite the mess, aren't we?" Kim asked without taking her eyes off her objective. She could have him almost screaming out in pain if if she strayed but an inch too inward.

"I'd say so. We showed Kai that we're not going to lay down and die just because that's what he wants. He's stubborn, though. Ruthless. Unless something outside of the Pits happens, we _will_ be killed her. It's only a matter of time," Jack told her sadly, but he wasn't going to lie, wasn't going to sugarcoat it.

"I know," Kim whispered just a I've a breath. "That's why we need to enjoy every second we can. There's not a lot of seconds here for us, but that's why we need to make the most of the ones we can," Kim smiled and kissed his ankle, then a few inches above his wound. **(A/N: This scene is about to get really racy. This is hands down the most explicit smut I've ever written, so huge fair warning! Read at your own risk!)**

She kissed, nibbled and licked every centimeter of his exposed leg until she came to his underwear, a hard on quickly forming from the work her mouth had already done.

"I see you're ready to enjoy a few seconds?" Kim questioned with a playful smile and sinful brown eyes.

"I'm an injured man, Kim. I'm at your mercy," Jack chuckled and laid flat on his back when Kim pushed down on his chest.

"I'd say so," Kim smiled devilishly and kissed his hard cock still covered by clothe. Her ministrations wandered north to the subtlest train of hair below his bellybutton, still slightly damp from when he had cleaned himself up from the fight.

She continued to lick a path up over his abs, to his chest to kiss and nip each flat nipple before finally taking his mouth with a hit tongue filled kiss. "You took me in the river nights ago, but tonight... I got this," Kim whispered into his ear before chomping his neck and descending the same path she had came until she was eye level with his fully swollen dick.

"Yeah, tonight... this is mine," she smiled as she pulled the waistband down and tapped Jack's hips so he would raise his bottom. He quickly did as ordered and was left completely naked while me Kim remained fully clothed. He was absolutely vulnerable compared to her, and that absolutely turned her on beyond measure.

"We're going to play a game. I'm going to do anything I want to until you cum. But there's a catch. If at any point you touch me, it's game over and we go straight to bed. Got it?" Kim challenged him to challenge her, but he wasn't stupid. Jack just nodded his head, closed his eyes, and gripped the blanket because he knew this was going to be difficult for him. Having this breathtaking blonde goddess having her completely open way with him for as long as she could keep him from coming was going to be torture. And he couldn't even touch her!

"Keep your eyes closed, too." Jack could hear the wicked grin in her voice. He nodded again and gulped.

Before Jack was ready, he felt a hot breath on his dick immediately followed by an icy blow, causing his whole body to shiver.

"Oh, this is going to be too fun," Kim smiled to herself as she gently raked her fingernails down Jack's sensitive balls, causing him to moan.

"And I thought that guy was going to kill me," Jack panted when he felt just the tip of Kim's wet tongue at the base of his shaft.

"If this is how you go, this is how you go," Kim giggled. Jack then heard her spit, but didn't feel anything. His back shot off the bed when he felt her saliva slicked hand wrap around the head of his cock and slowly slide down till it brushed his balls. She twisted around him and just as slowly ascended.

This time, he didn't hear it, but felt it as a small string of saliva fell directly on the head of his straining cock, followed again by Kim's skilled hands.

"If you keep up this pace, I'm going to die from anticipation alone," Jack chuckled, then tensed as Kim blew cool air on his member once again, her cooling spit leaving him in a completely new feeling that wasn't at all unpleasant.

"What's wrong Jack? Not used to this kind of physical training?" Kim mocked and Jack gulped in serious air when she wrapped her plump pink lips around Jack's almost painfully sensitive nut. His eyes rolled back in his head when she sucked it into her mouth and let it out with a pop.

Jack was speechless. He was done with banter. It was time for him to shut up and let the woman work. He knew he made the right decision when her lips were at the tip of him and slowly began to go down, her cheeks hollowing and filling with air as she went until she was nose to hilt.

He grit his teeth as she moved up and purposely grazed him with hers, the slightest measured touch. She went down again and deep throated him a few more times before sacrificing depth for speed, letting her hand take what her mouth couldn't reach in her quicker work.

Jack fought to keep his eyes closed when he felt Kim's fingers at his lips. He wanted to know what she was thinking, but this was a game of trust. He opened his mouth and sucked on Kim's fingers. Her feminine taste immediately filled his senses. She was fucking touching herself and gave him the hottest awareness of it. She was playing him so damn hard.

Kim started moaning and panting from what she was doing to herself as she continued to work Jack into a speechless puddle of want.

"Oh my god, Jack," Kim panted after she came off him. "What to do to you next..." Kim trailed off in audible thought.

"Fuck Kim, I was so close!" Jack had no problem admitting, knowing she would like that.

"Yeah, me too," Kim sighed, and then a proverbial light bulb nearly blinded her.

Jack felt Kim get off the bed. He heard some shuffling, then nothing. He felt the bed move. There was weight by his head, then on both sides. Now it was by his thighs as well. Jack was absolutely clueless as to what the hell Kim was up to.

His question was answered a little when he felt Kim nuzzling his still painfully at attention erection. It was answered in its entirety when he smelled her unmistakable, completely unique scent right above him.

Jack experimentally stuck out his tongue and met, sweet and tangy soft folds. Just that one little probe was all it took to send Kim straight back down over his rock hard penis, bobbing her head like mad. Jack marched her pace and began lapping at her sweet opening like a thirsty pup, enjoying her moans and delighted squeals over him as they went.

Jack was about to bust and his face was coated in his lover's arousal, the scent of their acts filling the air, marking the room as their territory, their nest, their home. Everything about this was love, lust and primal.

Jack nibbled her quivering clit, worried it, punched it with his tongue until she was grinding right into his mouth, Jack's problem unintentionally forgotten. With another light graze of his teeth over her swollen nub, Kim's walls shattered and Jack's mouth had to work double time to catch the nectar that rushed at his tongue.

He continued to lap at her, try to work her down from her forceful orgasm, but before ger inner walls could even stop fluttering, she was back down, enveloping Jack's still waiting manhood, taking it in her hot mouth and working it with her tongue like the product would be gold.

Jack began to pulse, his balls the tightest they had ever been. He felt like his whole body would spasm and buck Kim off, but she held on tight to his thighs as she finally worked the creamy cum from him and swallowed it all down.

"What did we just do?" Jack asked once they finally caught their breath and were able to have intelligent thought.

"Well, we had a lot of built up stress, emotion, fear from near death situations with undoubtedly more to come, and unleashed it on kinky, mind-blowing oral," Kim explained like it was no big deal as she crawled up next to Jack.

"That'll about do it," Jack chuckled and kissed her hair.

"Did I do good?" Kim asked sheepishly, biting her lip.

"I came so hard it almost hurt," Jack replied in all honesty. "Get some sleep, Scorpion. We have more work to do tomorrow."

"What do we do to celebrate tomorrow night?" Kim asked with a smile.

"We play a game of my choosing," Jack said, wiggling his eyebrows.

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 **Well there we go. Some drama, feelings, whole lotta action, and maybe the dirtiest smut I've peddled to date. Please review and let me know how I did this round!**


	16. Blood in the Water: Burning Empire

**One month later**

"You two understand this is crazy, right?" Milton tried to make Jerry and Rudy see how nuts they sounded.

"Milton, we have the army, dude. Between prisoners, folded in Imperials and supporters that have volunteered, we have 90,000 men! If we're not ready to break the capital now, I don't know when we will be," Rudy argued.

"Jack and Kim, Lusa and Asta, they have to be held in Seaford. Where else would they be? After that village, we lost contact completely. They had to have been taken! If they were executed in public we would have heard. They're alive," Jerry pushed. "The Wakaidans are going to fight with us because they think together we can do this. Four other nations tired of this dynasty have been choking out the borders and are quickly pushing inward. Seaford is all but surrounded! The Paranans are three days away from blockading and an amphibious assault! Between our armies, we can't lose, dude."

"Alright, alright! Gah!" Milton gave in, his hands in the air. "I'm just nervous, okay? No rebellion has taken Seaford in just over a hundred years, so pardon me if I'm a little hesitant!"

"You're fine, bro, it's just that we got friends in there and we need them. And if we take Seaford, that's war over, bro," Brody smiled.

With the exception of Milton, they felt like they could do it. For the past month their numbers had been exponentially growing. They had liberated prison camps, camps had been liberating themselves. The citizens of the Empire had been running off to join the fight, and a lot of those still at home contributed by smuggling supplies. Towns had even risen up in the name of the Crawford Empire. The Waikadans had began raiding in force in Asta's name since she hadn't returned and they could only blame the Empire. The board was set and the Empire appeared ready to fall in such a short amount of time.

A straight line to Seaford and it's submission would mean an end to the current dynasty, it's head effectively removed. They just had to get there with the strength to topple the great city. Kai seemed preoccupied, given the way he mishandled his legions, Rudy and Milton running circles around him.

During this magnificent showing and leaps and bounds of the rebellion, they had no idea what their friends and leaders were going through in the hell below Seaford. They had no idea how much they had changed or if they were even the same people. They couldn't imagine the nightmares that Jack, Kim, Lusa and Asta fought day in and day out for a month under the feet of the people of Seaford.

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Jack sat with his back against the wall, a hand running through his closely clipped hair. Too many times during a fight had someone used its length as a tool against him by pulling it or it simply getting in his way. His pride in how well he had been able to keep it was gone, given he hadn't bathed since he got to the Pits. No one had. The best they could do was a bucket of water and a sponge to get the blood and the sand off of them from every fight.

Lusa and Asta had formed a formidable gang in the Pits consisting of foreign prisoners of war. Jack watched the gang with a smirk on his face. Even down here in Kai's Hell, Jack and his people were becoming leaders and had shifted the balance of power.

Nobody wanted to fight Jack, Kim, Asta or even Lusa. They had become simply known as "The Four" and they chose their fights. Occasionally a new fool thinking he was tough when he got in thought he could be too dog by knocking off one of the Four, but it never happened.

The only fights that ever went into Arena Ten, also known as Crawford's Cage or Jack's House, were massive gang fights to show off strength between rivals. The aristocracy couldn't think of anything better. They still got their little one on one up and comer fights, but then they got to see the Four and their gang go up against whoever thought they had a shot. Kai was happy with it because a cheap shot or sheer numbers would be the only way Jack and Kim would go down. The Four were untouchable in singles combat and he knew it.

What drove Kai wild with anger was that the Four were so popular among the betting community. Kai was tired of hearing and was sick to the stomach from hearing about "Kick" and about how great Asta and Lusa were together in tag team death fights. The people he hated most in this world were celebrities and they just. Wouldn't. DIE!

Jack knew all of this and it ran through his head as he watched Lusa and Kim playing some kind of game in the sand, using their fingers to draw out whatever the game was. He couldn't help but smile at them. Two of the four most feared and respected people in hell were smiling and giggling like little schoolgirls over some game they created.

Kim's ability to leave the fight in the arena and be herself with him astounded him to no end. She had nightmares that would wake her in fear and tears, and Jack would hold her, kiss her and play with her hair until she could talk about it and fall back asleep. Jack hated those nights in an incomparable amount to those when he had his own demons to fight. Jack would rather die than see his Kim hurt, and there were a few times in the early stages of their time here that they had close calls.

Jack's leg was usable now, but because it was never given proper time to heal, it wasn't at it's full potential and comfort. In spite of his leg and Kai, Jack was still the single most dangerous man alive in the arena. He learned quickly how to adapt to his handicap, and that made him terrifying, because good enough wasn't enough for him. Nothing less than absolute domination would do. When all gates were closed, signaling the beginning of the fight, Jack went to a dark place not even Asta would follow. He was sick, majestic but gut wrenchingly brutal at the same time.

"Hey Jack?" Kim asked, breaking him out of his reflections.

"Hmm?" he asked back once he realized his love had joined him.

"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" Kim asked tentatively, rubbing a hand over his short cropped hair where long brown locks that she so misses used to be.

"Yeah," he smiled, honestly thinking he was okay. "I was just watching you and Lusa playing in the sand. It's honestly adorable," Jack said softly, now watching her sheepishly smiling face. "You're perfect, you know that?" Jack asked, hooking a finger under her chin so she would meet his eyes.

"Jack, I'm gross. Soapless sponge baths are the closest thing we've had to bathing in over a month," Kim said, scrunching her nose.

"That right there," he said pointing at the tip of her nose. "Even your 'I think I'm gross' face is adorably cute," Jack kissed her little nose then pecked her lips.

"How do you do that, Jack?" Kim asked, complete bewildered. "I have watched you cut off a man's arm above the elbow and throw it at someone else ten feet away. Then here you are, telling me I'm still perfect when you've watched me literally slit a man from crotch to sternum," Kim said, her 'I'm gross' face back in play.

"Kim, I have said this and so has Asta, it's not what you do in a situation that defines you, it's who you come out as that does. In those situations, we were who we needed to be to survive. After those situations, you have come back, after every one, and were still you. You are who I need, and who everyone else needs. I'm trying to do the same."

Kim sighed and sidled closer next to Jack. He reached out his arm and she rested her head on his shoulder. "How long before we're not us anymore?"

Jack paused, knowing his answer because he had thought about this same thing. "We'll die physically before we let our humanity die. That ring is a day at the office, and we'll always know that. I think we'll be okay."

"You think you can keep doing this, and there will never be a day when you look in the mirror and you hate what you see?"

"No, Kim, I don't. None of us asked to be here. None of us asked for this daily 'you or them' game. They didn't either, at least the prisoners we're with. The others, the rapists and murderers... this is sick, but I feel better for the Empire Milton, Rudy, Jerry, and Brody are working to create because everyone we kill, is a psychopath that isn't going back out there."

"Do you think the guys will ever free us?" Kim asked, looking up at him. They had heard news of the steamrolling rebellion from the constant check-ins of new faces.

Jack sighed and remained silent for a time before speaking. "I think..." he paused and decided not to lie to her. "Kai's going to have us put down before they can get to us. Killing us will be the last thing he does, but he'll do his best to do it."

"So that's it? We've gone this long and you have no hope we'll make it out?" Kim asked, not believing what she was hearing. "Then why do you keep fighting, Jack?"

"Because every day I stay alive means another night with you," he told her, looking right at her. "That's worth fighting for."

"Well you know what? I still have hope," Kim said softly, her breath hot on his neck. "I still have hope that we'll get out of here. I still have hope that we'll win this war, and that we'll get married. We'll grow old, love these people, be loved by these, and raise our children to do what we will do. Finally when we're tired and there's no second wind, one of us will go, but the other will be right behind. We won't go where the other won't follow."

Jack was stunned, immobilized by his love's words. Her spirit was stronger than his, and he wanted to draw from that, be inspired by her spirit and add it to the devotion to love her as long as possible.

"We'll die someday, Kim. But it won't be here, not like this. Not with so much to do," Jack kissed the top of her head and held her tight, "not when I need to love you so much longer."

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Milton stood next to his horse and watched the sleeping town below, binoculars in hand. He had a scowl on his face and his free hand on the handle of his katana.

"What are you thinking?" Brody asked, stepping up next to him. "Move in quiet, assault the barracks and make this quick?"

"Yeah, but don't assault it. Burn it. Capture those that surrender, shoot down anyone that don't," Milton ordered as he hopped up on his horse. "We're not going to get to Seaford by morning if we go around everything. Could use the numbers, too."

"I hear that," Brody replied, thumping his chest in salute. "I'll send Rudy's division forward. 9,000 should be enough to take a garrisoned regiment," Brody smirked as he walked off. Brody loved flexing muscle when he could, and he'd been doing it town after town during Milton's B-Line to Seaford Tour.

In one week, Milton had steamrolled and utterly routed everything Kai threw at him, but Milton had yet to meet Kai on the field. The Empire was quickly being snuffed out by the rebels, the uncountable Wakaidan legions of barbaric power and every other country that Kai thought pissing off had been a good idea.

Kai's aggression in his earliest days of power led to a fight he could not hope to combat at once. He couldn't see to every detail and all five fronts, plus the rebellious interior uprising. Kai quickly found out he could have been a legendary general, but his overzealous attitude he went into all things with was to be the shovel that dug his own grave.

There was no doubt now, with all the pieces on the board, that by tomorrow's sunset, there would be a new power seated in Seaford.

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"When do you think our next fight's gonna be?" Lusa asked as she raised her long dark hair, letting the whip-like tail fall down the center of her back.

"Whenever Kai and his paying friends want to watch us dance for them," Jack scoffed, his head in Kim's lap.

"It seems like we only fight when Kai wants to show us off to a special guest," Kim remarked. "That's what happens when we're reigning champs for over a month," she shrugged, her hand still massaging Jack's scalp. "Getting antsy, Luse?" Kim teased.

"Pssh! Nah!" she said, cracking her bruised knuckles.

"Why don't we overthrow the damn Pits?" Anders, a massive Wakaidan asked. "We have the numbers. Half The Pits are under the Four."

"We gave half the fighters, Anders, but the other half damn near hate us enough to help the Imperials if we made a break," Asta scoffed.

"Not only that, but they arm us at their pleasure. We'd be out of more than half our guys from crossbows if we made a move," Jack added. "We've already thought about it."

Anders scowled and bit his tongue. He knew Jack and Asta were right, but sitting around and waiting to be told to dance wasn't the Wakaidan way. He would rather die in a noble charge to earn either freedom or after life.

"Jack Brewer, I challenge you to a contest," Anders stood up, his chest heaving in an attempt at intimidation.

"Sit back down, dude. You don't want to challenge me. Besides, we're called _the Four_ , not _the One_. You'd have to take down Kim, Lusa and Asta, too. Nobody here could do that," Jack said, trying not to laugh. Anders was a great warrior, but not a solo Arena 10 warrior. He'd kick ass in Arena 7 or 8, but not 10.

Anders sat back down, saddened and humiliated. He would get his day against Jack and the Four, but again, he knew Jack was right. No four men would be dumb enough to challenge the Four to group combat. They trained and stated sharp together, in the open to scare off competitors, and it worked. Even Lusa could destroy the best of the rest, who probably was Anders.

The Four knew they had to do something because more and more comments were reaching them, speaking of their strength and unprecedented solidarity. Never before in the history of the Pits had one faction consumed half of the prisoner population.

"You know what? Fuck it," Kim announced, tapping Jack's head, telling him to get up. "Let's go to Kai and demand a fight. Hell, most of us have more than ten kills, but he breaks the Pits' rules and keeps us. We should at least get to choose an opponent once every ten victories, right?" Kim now addressed everyone. "Let's go get our fight!"

Kim's little speech was all it took to get their half of the Pits roaring and ready to go. The bloodlust of the prisoners currently fighting boiled higher and worked them to a frenzy. The high society over Nearest Pits heard it and began flooding toward Arena Ten where the entire Gang of Four was now marching.

"Kim, what the hell are you doing?" Jack hissed into her ear.

"I'm picking a fight, Jack. We've earned a reward."

"Who are we picking a fight with?" Jack asked, more than a little worried.

"The other gangs, Jack. We beat the other gangs and we control the whole population down here. Once we do that, we overthrow the aristocracy."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Jack bit, liking this less and less.

"Trust me, Jack, I got this," Kim said with a smile.

"Do you even have a plan after this?" Jack fumed, really wishing she would have talked to him first.

Kim didn't say anything, causing Jack to facepalm. "Fucking great..."

"I said trust me, damn it!" Kim snapped, having maybe too much faith in herself.

"Kai! We demand to talk to Kai!" Kim shouted at the two Dragons that guarded the currently empty balcony. "We have a prize fight for him he can't turn down!"

The apparent spokesman of the lower aristocracy ran over the bleachers and beckoned for the guard to come as close to the balcony edge as possible. He leaned over the small space between the two platforms and whispered something to the guard, who then looked shocked and moved off with haste.

"It looks like we'll have our fight," Kim smirked, her heart pounding at her own initiative and ambition.

"God help us..." Jack mumbled.

"No, God help them," Lusa said seriously behind them. "It's our yard."

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 **This story is near the end, my friends. One more chapter and maybe an epilogue. I'm not one to drag a story out, and don't worry, the ending will be super climactic. It'll be a long one and super intense. I've been planning this end for a while.**


	17. A New World

The sun hadn't quite peaked over the hill that commanded the view above Seaford when Milton had his field pieces placed. All of his trebuchets were arranged in a convex semicircle on the crest of the hill.

The city had not yet woken, and had no idea a red day was before them. They didn't know two armies were just outside their gates, combining for an unprecedented force of 340,000 troops. A force of such size was absolutely unheard of.

With a single order from one man, the Battle of Seaford would begin.

"Now is the time," Milton addressed his friends, his generals, "that we restore the rightful dynasty and end the suffering of literally millions. Prepare your legions, your divisions. You have your orders." With a raise and a drop of his hand, Milton gave the order for the bombardment to commence.

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The Gang of Four still had to play Kai's game. They waited not so patiently the entire night for Kai to arrive. He wasn't going to get out of bed for a bunch of prisoners he had been trying to kill for a month. He was the top dog. They waited on him, and so he made them.

It was finally just before sun up that Kai and his elitist friends arrived at the balcony over Arena 10.

"It's cone to my attention that you're _demanding_ a fight?" Kai asked, his voice disbelieving but his eyes intrigued.

"Yeah, we are. There are five other gangs in the Pits. We want the best twenty from each gang to team up against us. This arena has enough room for a hundred verse one-hundred battle. You want to be entertained? You want to watch us dance and die for you? This is the best offer you're going to get," Kim told him, her voice calm and hands on her hips.

Kai scratched his chin, trying to find a reason for Kim to want such a thing. Did she _want_ to die? Was the Four finally breaking and tired of it all. They had to know he was never letting them free. Beside his own thoughts, the other members of the aristocracy were absolutely drooling at the mouth from the idea of this historic fight.

"What's it going to be, Kai?" Kim challenged.

"You'll have your fight. One hour will be gates closed," he said, Pits language for one hour then hell breaks loose. "The other gangs will need to pick their fighters."

"Sounds good," Kim said with a victorious smile, happy to get what she wanted.

Kai was about to leave when a Dragon ran in and whispered something in Kai's ear. Kai's jaws clenched and his face reddened. "Forget one hour!" Kai thundered. "Open the gates now! All of them! _Everybody_ dies!" he spat and stormed off.

"What the hell?" Jack asked under his breath. At that moment, a ground shattering noise broke above them and dust fell from the high ceilings, the dusting them all. Another, then another, then another. "Milton..." Jack pieced together.

"The Rebellion is assaulting Seaford," Kim said quietly. "The Rebellion is attacking Seaford she said a little louder. Someone next to her said it, and the game continued until it was a chant, surging through the entire Gang of Four. Freedom was so close. Kim was right to hope!

As Kai had demanded, all the gates opened and two armies stared each other down. Nobody moved, nobody talked. Some even questioned whether or not to breath.

Jack stepped forward, his shirt already off and wrapped around his wrecking ball of a right hand. He looked at Kim and quickly kissed her before facing the masses before him. "For the Empress and to freeing the Empire!" Jack shouted and charged forward, the Gang of Four right behind him, ready to collide with death for the sake of defiance.

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Milton watched with a smile as the first few legions of Imperials exited the city in long columns before fanning out into battle formation. They advanced and aimed right for the hill.

Without needing orders, the line of artillery began peppering Kai's lines with massive boulders and large rocks that when grouped together made for a decimating scatter shot. Brody and Rudy would have their work cut out for them, sure, but the barrage was absolutely terrible for the psyche and was great for weakening enemy lines, even if just a little.

It didn't take long before Kai's defensive trebuchets in Seaford began to reply, but the hill made Milton's far more effective and devastating.

Brody and Rudy braced for impact and pushed back against the tide of black and red that crashed into them. After this fight, they would have to make their way into the city. The field pieces were back on that track, now that they couldn't be used as antipersonnel without risking friendly fire. As soon as the wall came down, 250,000 Wakaidans would storm the streets and cut down any Imperial that tried to stem the flow.

Jerry was supposed to be involved in the main assault, but he defied Milton's orders as he came from behind the hill and smashed into the flanks of the Imperial vanguard with the Rebel and Wakaidan cavalries, Ty at his side as well as the Wakaidan Cavalry commander.

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Bodies began to pile up on both sides as the aristocracy who had been absorbed by this sick underground tradition for a century through in weapons and cheats nearly by the bucket.

Prisoners caught arms, were hit with them as they were tossed in, killed trying to get them.

Jack himself had had a hatchet thrown right to him, no doubt a fan of "Kick" who many of the aristocracy had gotten behind much to Kai's agony. Kim, too, had received a bow staff and had snapped off about the first three inches to give her a crude and effective spear.

The young, desperate lovers fought side by side in the overpopulated arena. You couldn't take a step without stepping on a body or at least a part of one. The two sides were crushed together at the center, no one able to make ground because a replacement arrived as soon as a man or woman was cut down. It was absolute hell. Hot, sweaty, grimy, blood soaked hell that one could expect to survive, but everyone hoped to.

Asta and Lusa had tried to stay close to Jack and Kim, but their rivals had the sense to cut the real Four in half, hoping they would be more killable that way, but no such luck this far.

Lusa never thought even the Pits would see her use a dead man as a shield to protect her from a man trying to gut her alive with broken glass. Lusa never thought she would head-butt a living man with a dead man's head, but this wasn't a battlefield that had conventions like the one just outside the city.

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The Imperial vanguard was just beginning to break, crossbows coming into use over swords again. The Imperials tried to run, but were cut down by Jerry and his riders far before they could reach the city. If they were to fight another day, it would have to be under the Rebel banner.

Those that surrendered were marched back to the hill and cut their sleeves off to show their embarrassment in defeat, but also to avoid confusion in the upcoming melee that would see their honor restored or them dead.

"Kai has to be watching this," Milton said, his face a mask. There was no triumphant smile, no cocky smirk. Only professional, cold, lethal indifference. He could afford no emotion when he attempted to take Seaford.

His binoculars were trained on the spot of wall the trebuchets had singled out for destruction, as well as the main gate. He wanted two holes at least for "ventilation." The main gate would be the Wakaidan avenue of attack. One vent hole would be for his infantry or Jerry's cavalry. If he had the munitions, he would have a hole for cavalry and his infantry. A fraction of his force would focus on clearing Imperials from the walls, another for clearing the main street and the majority of the Imperial forces that would cone to meet them. Jerry's job was to ride to the heart of the city, flush out campers who weren't in the general fray. Or go after Kai and the Dragons themselves, weaken them until the main body could get there if the cavalry couldn't get the job done themselves.

After minutes, the strong stone walls finally began to give way in one section, then another. The gate gave first, but Milton wouldn't advance until he had his vents or was low on munitions.

Another fifteen minutes passed and Milton's patience was awarded with a vent on the left side of the gate. That would be his wall taking vent. With all the trebuchets focused now on one point, it buckled in five minutes. The vent to the far right would be Jerry's window.

"All units forward! Don't stop until the city is taken and we have our friends back!" Milton ordered. "Brody, Rudy... be careful," Milton said, stopping the two of them from moving past him.

"We'll be fine, Milton. I'm not worried, Brody's not worried, you shouldn't be," Rudy said with a smile, his hand on Milton's shoulder.

"Forgive me for worrying about the last three of my friends I still have with me as they assault the heaviest fortified city in the Empire, maybe even the world!" Milton cocked off at them, Jerry having stopped with Rudy and Brody.

"Dude, you're paranoid. We have over 300,000 men. The chances of the three of us dying is like... one in 100,000," Jerry smiled, pleased with himself.

"Good job, Jerry! Good boy!" Milton told him as if Jerry was a dog. "I swear you are the dumbest man I have ever met. How you're a brilliant cavalier at the same time astounds me," Milton told his friend honestly. Jerry smiled, disregarding the backhandedness of the compliment.

"Thanks, dude! I guess it's a gift," Jerry's smile was smug as he brushed the dust from his shoulder. To Jerry's credit, there actually was dust.

"Just... go get us the damn capital," Milton mumbled as he face palmed.

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"Jack, over there!" Kim shouted, pointing to a section of the arena wall. A group of the Gang of Four and some other prisoners were working together to stack an inclining mound of bodies against the wall.

It sickened Jack to think that that many had died, and that these men had the stomach to use them as simple building blocks. Jack understood, though. They were building a ramp of cooling flesh to make their escape.

Jack and Kim just had to keep the onlookers busy until the ramp was finished. With that in mind, Jack threw himself back into the seemingly endless brawl.

The bodies stacked and stacked. There was over a thousand bodies between the two sides. Jack was beginning to worry that if this onslaught continued in this way, there wouldn't be enough prisoners left for a real fight against the guard and whoever they'd run into outside.

As the ramp continued, more workers joined in on the construction. A Dragon didn't notice what was happening until the last body was in place.

"To the ramp! Jack and Kim shouted together. The prisoner population turned to see what they meant, and once they did, they all ran for it as the Dragons went to meet them, the aristocracy trying to leave before they could be at all bloodied.

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Brody and Rudy led their force of 90,000 straight to the vent hole while the Wakaidans ran to the gate.

Once through the hole, they ran to the stairs but were met by the Imperials that held it. Who held the walls held the gatehouse.

The gatehouse was all full of goodies. Rocks and spears to be thrown down on assailants, murder holes for crossbowmen, boiling oil to drench and then set ablaze. The Wakaidans couldn't be set through while these defenses were still Imperial.

Jerry had rolled his cavalry into the flank of the Imperials meant to stop the Wakaidans. Once the Wakaidans were free to enter, Jerry would disengage and move deeper into the city.

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The Four, along with the other roughly 4,000 prisoners had fought onto the balcony, past the first string of Dragons. The Dragons were better conventionalists, but were unprepared for the sheer animosity that was this horde.

The Dragons that remained broke and ran, jumping over the balcony to the Arena 10 viewing box. The last three Dragons failed to get across in time, being pulled down by the Four themselves.

"Come on, the door is right there!" Jack shouted, pointing forward with the katana he had taken from a Dragon.

"That's freedom through there!" Kim shouted by Jack's side. "For us and the Empire! Let's join in that fight!" Kim and Jack were the first two to hop over the small divide and one step closer to the finish line.

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The wall had been more time consuming than manpower consuming. Fighting in a space where only two versus two was comfortable took forever. Brody and Rudy did the heavy lifting, being the pack leaders. At the wide point of the wall, they were able to fit four abreast, and things sped up a little.

After a time, the Imperials were forced to give up the gate house, and once the Imperial flag was down, the Wakaidan sea flooded through and slammed against the Imperial main body, freeing Jerry and the Rebel army to move on to other things.

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The once prisoners jogged through the long tunnel that they had been led down to be processed, a cry of victory ripped from every throat when they ran past the stairs that they had been sent down to enter the Pits.

Jack heard rushing feet ahead and was glad they hadn't sprinted down the tunnel. They would have run straight into more Imperials without warning. Instead, Jack was able to close and brace the door that led out before they could be decimated by a crossbow volley.

"We're trapped. That's the only way out!" Lusa shouted. They were so close! "We have nowhere to go."

It wasn't long before Jack had noticed a change. Small wisps of smoke began curling under the great wooden door. The temperature started to rise.

"They're going to burn it down! Jack, we have to fall back!" Kim shouted over the noise of the people behind them, who had also just figured it out.

"No, no we don't. Everybody, lay down!" Jack ordered, and everyone did.

They waited patiently for the massive red double doors to burn to ashes, smoke filling the hallway like a dark evil cloud.

Jack heard footsteps, telling him the Dragons were approaching. He waited, watched as pairs of feet passed him.

"They suffocated?" a voice asked.

"No way. I don't believe it," Kai himself responded. Jack couldn't believe his luck. Kai himself was here to try to finish off the Four before they could become too dangerous outside of the Pits.

Jack didn't wait for an order, springing to his feet and gutting the first Dragon in front of him. The others rose up as well and the fight was back on.

In this tiny space, the fighting was vicious and extremely close quartered. The fight went to those who could get in the quickest and be the nastiest. Kai had no qualms about stopping to the prisoners' level while the rest of the Dragons struggled with the raw savagery of their opponents and what they had to do themselves. There was no honor in this fight, which the Black Dragon Code was supposed to be about, what the Dragons thought it was about.

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Jerry's cavalry rushed through the expansive city in a blind attempt to find the city's keep where he expected Kai to be.

The problem was that it was an absolute mad dash through the city. Imperials lined the roofs and hid behind makeshift cover, raining bolts into the invaders. They dare not leave their cover, knowing they would be cut down. Here they were safe and whittling away the Rebel spearhead.

Finally at the end of the hellish maze of streets, Jerry made his way to the courtyard in front of the palace. It was oddly undefended to Jerry's eyes.

He dismounted quickly and stormed the palace with a sizable detachment. The rest stayed outside and made a defensive ring to keep possession of the courtyard.

Once inside, Jerry found it to be completely deserted. "Where the fuck are you, Kai?!" Jerry shouted, punching the wall. He ignored the terrible aching. "Where is my Lusa!?" he cried out again and fell to his knees.

"No," Jerry stood back up. "There has to be something here. A passageway, a panic room, something. Find. It." Jerry snapped from gritted teeth. "If you find anyone, kill them."

A rider who had been in the royal kitchen at the back of the mansion called for Jerry, and Jerry came running.

"What? What is it?" he asked as he slid into the linoleum tiled floor. The rider pointed out the window at a kept path, winding out through a garden.

Jerry took a deep breath and stepped back. With a running start he crashed through the windows and rolled to the ground. He came right out of the roll and ran down the path, the other riders struggling to catch up with him while taking the long way.

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The main force under Brody and Milton had finished cleaning up the vanguard at the front of the city. Their next objective was to clear out the town, house by house. Any defenders would give in or perish. The house top snipers would have to be dealt with. A large task indeed, but alongside the Wakaidans, it was doable.

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The fight in the dark hallway wasn't going well for anybody. The tide was even but the dragged out exposure to the hot smoke was wearing down everyone's endurance and lungs.

Jack and Kim staid close together throughout the fight, and were faltering together. Kim fell to one knee, and then Jack was at her side. He looked up in time to block a weak strike from a Dragon, before that dragon too fell to his back and fought for breath.

Neither side wanted to give, but if they stayed there, continued the fight to the end, everyone would suffocate. There would be no winner. Perhaps that's what Kai wanted. He knew he had lost the war, knew he wouldn't live to see the next day.

Jack and Kim's breathing became worse and worse. They were down on their knees and forearms, hacking miserably.

"Kim... we need to... get out of here..." Jack rasped between throat ripping coughing fits.

Kim only nodded, trying to see through red, watery eyes. Her and Jack tried to army crawl through the throng, defiantly trying to fight through the hot and heavy air.

Jack was stopped when someone grabbed his ankle and pulled him back. He rolled over and stared down his assailant.

Kai held on for dear life, coughing and spitting blood from the prolonged lung damage and overexertion. He tried to pull Jack back towards him, but his muscles failed him and he lost his grip on Jack.

Jack watched as Kai fought and toiled to draw in his final breaths before his body stopped moving. Bloodshot, desperate, feral dead eyes stared back. Jack couldn't look away, the bloody lips and eyes of his cousin forever stained into his memory. This is how Jack would always remember Kai now.

Kim tugged gently on his shoulder, eyes pleading for him to keep moving as bodies, dead and fighting to live fell around them. "Jack..." Kim rasped, begging. "We... need... to go," her strength was failing as she tried to speak.

Jack nodded and again they dragged on, over bodies, dead and dying.

Kim was slightly ahead when she froze, her body not moving at all. Jack caught up and found her eyes completely focused. Her followed her gaze straight down. There on the floor, just ahead of them laid Asta. She was unmoving, her breathtakingly blue eyes were closed and her full lips held a gentle smile. Even in death, she was the image of proud and strong radiance. Kim kissed her forehead and carried on, Jack beside her who whispered a quiet "Thank you, sweet queen."

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Jerry came to the end of the winding garden path to see it led to a massive red set of double doors that slanted into the ground like a cellar. It took him and two more soldiers, but they were able to force the doors. Without pause, they went under into a dark tunnel illuminated only by torchlight.

On and on they went through the tunnel. It didn't have too many path options, but it did have it's fill of twists and turns.

"Sir, do you smell that?" A Rebel soldier asked.

"Yeah dude, it's smoke. Shit must be going down ahead, come on!" Jerry waved them on and continued with a renewed breath.

The smell got stronger and the air thicker. The unmistakable smell of death also hung in the air, causing the less seasoned to cringe.

Finally Jerry came upon the grizzly scene of the battle. Dragons and unmarked men lay all over the ground, not a body moving, not a sound uttered.

The smoke had dissipated with time and Jerry's entrance had given the smoke a new filter route, making the air increasingly breathable.

"Look for survivors!" Jerry shouted as he began rolling over bodies and checking pulses. "Check every body!"

Occasionally a warrior was found, just barely hanging on. They were lifted up and brought to fresher air and given water, but removing them would cost too much time and man power from finding other survivors.

Jerry stopped cold when he came across the once lively and intimidating blonde goddess. He too noticed just how serene she looked, even though her spirit had left her body. A tear rolled down Jerry's cheek for her, and his heart plummeted because she was the best proof that Jack, Kim, and his Luse were here.

He began frantically moving bodies, searching for his friends and loved ones above all else. He had to find them, wouldn't leave this passage of hell without them.

He rolled over a Dragon, and there she was, her body contorted and limbs bent, her hair sweaty, blood soaked and matted around her beautiful face and cocoa skin.

"God, Luse..." Jerry whispered. "NO!" he screamed and ducked low, his ear to her mouth to check for breathing. He didn't hear anything. He checked her pulse and his heart jumped into his throat. It was feint, almost a trace, but damn it, she was alive! Jerry applied the CPR that Jack and Kim made sure everyone knew. In this case, it saved a life.

Lusa's chest swelled when her beaten lungs took in their own air, and her eyes shot open, filled with life. They looked around frantically, her mind still locked in fight or flight. They landed on Jerry's smiling face and she instantly calmed.

"Jer... I knew I'd see you again," she smiled and tried to kiss him, but the motion was agonizing to her, having been so close to death.

Jerry bent down and their lips briefly met. She couldn't afford a breath stealing kiss right now.

"Jack, Kim, Asta... where are they?" Lusa asked, her eyes darting around again.

"We haven't found Jack and Kim, but Asta..."

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When the carnage had ended and the battle was over, the Rebel leaders who now stood on top, all met in the town square.

"Where's Jack and Kim?" Milton asked, seeing that Lusa had returned. He wasn't familiar with Asta, but Rudy was, and his heart crumbled to ash when he didn't see her.

"We looked and looked," Jerry said sadly, his head down. "We looked everywhere there was to look and we still have people looking."

"Is Asta still missing?" Rudy asked, hoping against hope that maybe she was with Jack and Kim.

"No, Rudy... we... we found Asta," Lusa replied, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her and Rudy met in the middle of the gathering and hugged it out, both crying without shame. Together they took their leave to mourn in the moment.

"What if we don't find Jack and Kim?" Brody asked, turning to Milton.

"If we don't find them, we do what they'd want. We don't have a Crawford right now, and this rebellion was borne on her name. 'To victory goes the kingdom,'" Milton quoted an old saying from the days just before the Empire.

"What do you mean by that?" Brody wondered aloud.

"We can't keep the Empire without Kim as our empress, and I wouldn't want to. I think what we will do, is the next best thing and what I think her and Jack would approve of."

"Out with it, damn it!" Brody shouted, losing his patience.

"The people are done being tyrannized. They're done living for someone else. It's time they rule for themselves, govern themselves and decide how they want to live."

"What are you proposing?" Brody asked in a better temper because Milton was finally getting somewhere.

"In Jack and Kim's stead, I'm going to instate a republic. Elected officials, the people vote on issues, they get to vote on declaring offensive wars. The government will officiate and guide the people, but the people will hold the fate of themselves."

"That's well said," Brody commended him with a smile. "That is what Jack and Kim would want, I think they would even if they were here. I can clearly see Kim's republic," Brody said sadly, wishing their old friends were here and they wouldn't have to have this talk.

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While the transformation of the Empire to a republic was under discussion, Jack and Kim stood at the base of Mount Seaford, a hunting path winding up before them.

"I think this is the right call for us, Kim," Jack told his love, their eyes locked and fingers intertwined.

"I do too, Jack. This is right for us. We need to do this for us. We spent so long doing what was for them, and we did it. We broke the Empire, put the right people at the top. The citizens are safer and better than ever. They can go awhile without Jack and Kim," she smiled softly and lifted herself up on her toes to sweetly kiss Jack's lips.

Dragged out, beaten down and utterly exhausted, Jack still found the want and the strength to pick up his love and spin her around in the air, laughing while Kim giggled and kissed him.

"Maybe someday we'll go back, but right now, you're all I want. Me, you, and my dad's hunting cabin in the woods. It's secluded, romantic, easily upkeepable... and a place to start a family."

"Perfect," Kim smiled and took Jack's hand again as they walked the path to their escape.

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 **Well there's the end to yet another Superpsych adventure! I hope you all liked, I hope it met all of your expectations. Please stay tuned for my next story and don't forget to hit that review button! Thanks!**


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